Burdened
by hbossette
Summary: [ON HIATUS] Burden: (n) that which is borne with difficulty; obligation; duty. A century prior, an ancient species rose from the lower depths of the Makai and hid itself in plain sight among humans. How can this feral creature protect the worlds when she, herself, is a threat? [Hiei, OC] (Rated M for a reason) [CURRENTLY REWRITING...]
1. One

**Disclaimer:**

 **This story is rated M for language, sexual situations, and descriptions of gore, torture, and emotional distress. Although these themes may not appear in every chapter, they will absolutely appear within the course of the story. If you are uncomfortable with any of these. I suggest you find another fic to enjoy. I do not claim to own the works of Yu Yu Hakusho; I claim only my plot and original characters. This story is set following the events of the television series with manga elements as well.**

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"Aw, come on! Just one drink. Please?" Pale blue eyes pleaded with me. David leaned over my desk, one hand flat against the wood of my workstation. His khaki slacks were creased at his pelvis from the long day of sitting at his own desk. His white and blue plaid shirt was still tucked in, though, and his bright yellow tie swung in front of him.

My hands stilled over the keyboard as I paused entering the long list of amounts I'd been typing into the spreadsheet. Raising an eyebrow, I turned my own brown eyes up to meet his gaze. "You have asked me every Friday for the past month for 'just one drink.'" The corner of my lip quirked up in a half smile as I slowly shook my head. "Why is today any different?"

I received toothy grin back in response. "Because you're getting tired of me asking. If you just say 'yes,' I'll stop asking!"

Completely removing my hands from over the keyboard, I leaned back in my chair and crossed my legs, the material of my straight-legged jeans rustling from the movement. Casual Fridays were my favorite – I could actually refrain from wearing a skirt. I smoothed the hem of my chemise and rolled my eyes at the blue-eyed man. "If I say yes, then you'll just start asking different questions."

David cocked his head and tried to look innocent, to which I could have called out 'bullshit!' and no one would have argued. "I have no idea what you're talking about. But come on! One drink!"

A tanned hand reached out from behind me to grab my stapler. "Come on, Ria. Give the poor guy a break." Angela smiled as she sauntered off to her own desk caddy-corner from mine. She was a tall, long-legged woman with striking Puerto Rican features. Her straight black hair was pulled back in a tight pony-tail. She glanced back over her shoulder to wink one of her honey brown eyes at David. I threw a fake glare in her direction. _Traitor_.

"Just say yes so he'll stop begging, it's pathetic!" Garrett, another of our co-workers, was playing with balled up pieces of paper, shooting them into varying trash cans around him – or rather, _at_ the trash cans.

"God, what is this? Peer pressure?" I was grumbling now. My two other coworkers had taken David's side nearly every time he'd attempted to ask me out. While I would admit he was handsome, smart, and financially stable, I did not want to get involved. "David, I've said it once, I'll say it again and every time after – dating coworkers is a _very bad_ idea. So, no. No drink."

I resumed my work as David trudged back to his own desk. His shoulders had slumped in his over-exaggerated sulk. Although I did my best to ignore his pouting at number twelve rejection statement, a small part of my brain nagged at me to feel sorry for the guy, no matter how relentless he might be.

"C'mon, give the poor kid a break. He's trying so hard to impress you." Garrett's baritone voice was hushed as he leaned over to me from his desk. His brown hair, only a few shades darker than my own, had been recently buzzed down. He was clean shaven, as he was every day, and I noted the years of military service that still edged into his style. I was glad he remained seated, as his 6'2" frame towered eight inches over my own.

Letting a half smile slip to my lips, I reminded Garrett he'd originally applauded me for sticking to my moral code and refusing to date a coworker. If two of the six employees in an office allow anything more than friendship to come between them, especially if it goes awry, spells nothing but trouble. After David's persistence, though, Garrett's resolve had quickly waned.

"He's nice, I'll give him that. But we've already got one perv trying to feel me up here." I motioned my thumb back over my shoulder at the partners' dark offices. Thankfully, our supervisor had decided to take an early weekend. "I don't need David doing the same."

Garrett frowned at me as he leaned back to his normal position. "He's not as bad as Franklin…" He spoke, of course, to the younger of the two partners of the accounting firm. Although Franklin was married to the elder partner's daughter, had three beautiful children with her, and ran the business nearly eighty percent of the time, he still managed to have the time and gall to be a lecherous pervert.

"No, he's not as bad. But can you imagine if he even thought something was going on? I'd be living in a hell made of nothing but paperwork for weeks." I shuddered at the thought and shook my head quickly to rid myself of the feeling. "I know Angela can afford to tell him off with that fiancé of hers, but I just can't."

Angela looked back over her shoulder at me with a sympathetic smile. The aforementioned fiancé was from a well-to-do family; Angela could stop working anytime she wanted and they would support her. She liked the work, though.

Unfortunately for me, I was single with no family to speak of. My parents, who'd adopted me late in their lives, had passed when I was 19. I'd only lived with them for 3 years at that point, but I loved them. My mother hadn't lasted very long after my father had passed. I'd received enough inheritance to get through college without having to work full time and set aside a bit for emergencies. It wasn't enough to live on, though, considering I was still maintaining the house they'd passed on to me. I'd made the mistake of taking out a loan to completely remodel it.

I needed my job with its pleasant paycheck and the benefits with it. Garrett needed his as well – he would be going home to his wife and new baby tonight. He was, as my mother used to say, "good people." If he didn't have a new family to support, he would have kicked Franklin's ass by now.

Allowing myself a few more minutes of work, I completed my spreadsheet and glanced at the clock. Only five minutes left of the day? I think I could head out a little early – I wasn't the one locking up tonight. Shutting down my workstation, I grabbed my purse and gave a little wave to Garrett to let him know I'd be leaving.

My hand was on the outer door handle as I heard David call out, "One drink!" Shaking my head, I waved at my coworkers. "Bye Garrett, by Angela. No, David."

Climbing into my silver sedan, I let my body settle into the habit of beginning my trip home. My brain switched from work to relaxation as I made a mental list of what I had planned for the weekend. First and foremost on my list was to stop at the Coffee Shoppe downtown, just a few minutes' drive from work. I needed a large cup of chai with a few espresso shots – caffeine was essential for a Friday afternoon for the cleaning my house I had planned.

When I arrived downtown, it was already turning into a busy night and I ended up having to park two blocks down from the Coffee Shoppe. It was packed already by the time I walked through the doors and groaned at the sight of the line.

The Coffee Shoppe was the typical college hangout. The layout was large and industrial, and the ceilings were high to give the illusion of more space. A small stage was placed in the back corner for open mic nights and numerous overstuffed chairs and couches were scattered around to relax in, as well as bar-height tables with accented stools to chat at. Even though I'd graduated with my Bachelor's four years prior, I still enjoyed the atmosphere. It also didn't hurt that every single barista had my order down to a science.

Thankfully, the line moved quickly and the majority of those ordering took theirs to go. Due to my purposeful lack of plans, I decided I'd order mine to stay and hang out for a while. I was contemplating ordering something to eat when a male voice called my name.

"Ria! Haven't seen you in a while!" A young man with dark brown hair pulled into a small bun at the back of his head was smiling at me from behind the counter. He was lean with wide shoulders, made to look even more so by the typical barista apron. Thin glasses were perched low on his nose, and dark brown, thin-almond eyes peered over the edge of them at me.

I smiled widely and gave a little wave to the man; only one other customer stood in front of me in line. "Hey, Clay. That's your fault, not mine, you know. I'm here all the time. Somebody had to hold down the fort while you went off to find yourself."

Clayton let out a barking laugh as he leaned over the espresso machine, his eyes crinkling at me before he turned back to the drink he was making. He was a fairly attractive man of German and Japanese descent. Almost a decade older than me, he was my favorite barista I'd met at the Coffee Shoppe – and the only one I'd consider an actual friend.

As I reached the counter, I made to say hi to the little blonde, Jessie, behind the register, but Clayton cut us both off by spouting off my order – large chai latte with a double shot of espresso and spices.

Jessie rolled her eyes. "I know what Ria gets, O.K.? You're not the only one who knows her!" Turning back to me, she shook her head and gave me a wry grin. "Honestly, he takes a few weeks off and comes back thinking the Shoppe went to hell in a handbasket!"

"You ruined all the hard work I put in here!" Clayton was yelling back at her.

"Re-designing the easel that goes out front does not mean I ruined it!" Jessie took my cash and I tossed the change into the tip jar as Clayton slid the large mug in front of me – it was too fast, he must have started making it the moment he saw me. I smiled at both of them and sidled off with my mug to one of the overstuffed chairs near a window. Thankfully, my RBF scared off anyone who wanted to sit near me and I was left alone as I enjoyed my drink.

After half an hour, I found my drink nearly gone and my attention focused on a silly game I'd found on my phone. I was thinking about calling it a day and heading home when Clayton plopped down in the chair caddy-corner to mine, his apron left behind the counter. I glanced up at him. "Aren't you supposed to be working?"

He kicked his feet up to rest on the coffee table in between the chairs. "Some of us like to take breaks to chat with our favorite caffeine addicts."

"You only like me because I tip well." I set my phone to the side and finished off my chai. I hadn't seen the man for several weeks and it was good to see he hadn't run away indefinitely.

Clayton was grinning, his natural charm seeping from every pore. I'd witnessed his charisma from watching him work in the Coffee Shoppe, earning bigger and bigger tips from his female patrons – and the occasional male. He was a very likeable person. "Eh, good tips plus you're not completely intolerable."

"Gee, thanks." I rolled my eyes at him and sent him a wry smirk. "So, where'd you run off to?"

Clayton leaned back in his chair, folding his hands behind his head. "Back to Japan for a bit. Apparently there was a big ol' happening over there not too long ago. Thought I'd check it out and report back to you."

For a moment, I wanted to wipe the gentle smile off his face – he had been gone too long from the Shoppe. He was unloading all of his pent up charm on me and I was not in the mood for playful flirting. I gave him a wave of my hand to urge him to continue.

"A couple old friends reached out to me. Said there was a shift in the universe, like a wall collapsing." There was a shit-eating-grin on his face, like he was laughing at his own joke. "So I decided to visit. I might go back again soon though."

Sitting up, I stretched my back and neck. My body was tired of sitting. "Long plane rides, avoiding work – why wouldn't' you go back?"

He chuckled at me and sat up as I had. His dark brown eyes locked on to me from behind his glasses. "You could always come with. I'm sure we'd have a great time."

I threw my head back and laughed. Clayton was always inviting me on his trips – I never took him seriously. "Oh, sure, overseas trip with my barista. Let me go pack my bags!"

"I detect sarcasm, missy!" Clayton grinned toothily and leaned back again. "Yeah, too forward, I know. How about instead of a trip to Japan we grab dinner at the Japanese steakhouse up the road?"

I waited for him to crack a joke, or give any kind of indication he wasn't serious. Unfortunately, his face had relaxed into a gentle smile. He was serious… What was it about today that was causing not one, but two of the males in my life to ask me out? Don't get me wrong, I wasn't typically asked on dates by others because I'm unattractive – I honestly felt that I was pretty most days, save for the general insecurities I had about my body (too much curve, too little curve, several scars, not tall enough, … I could go on).

I wasn't asked out because I wasn't social and I liked it that way. I had no family to speak of, I refused to take part in college parties, clubs, or Greek life while I was in school, and my coworkers were really the only people I got along with. Any others who knew my name at all outside of work were from my regular haunts – grocery stores, coffee shops, and the woman from a tiny craft shop up the street from whom I bought the yarn for my knitting projects.

Yes, I knit. I'm basically a hermit, it seemed fitting. All I was missing was a plethora of cats and I would be set.

"Ria?" Clayton's quiet voice broke me from my internal musings of why two, let alone even one man had asked me out today.

"Oh – sorry! You, uh, kind of caught me off guard." I had to shake my head briefly as I blinked my eyes furiously to dispel my confused expression.

Clayton sniggered at my response. "Well, what do you think? Dinner – with me?" His expression was calm, but I could see his leg bouncing with nervousness. He was hopeful. I felt guilt gnawing at me already – I didn't want to turn him down, but I didn't want to go on a date with him.

"I don't know, Clay. I don't really do that…"

"What, you don't eat?"

A quiet chuckle escaped me as a smile slipped onto my lips. "No, you goof. I don't exactly go on dates." And it was true, I hadn't gone on an actual date since freshman year of college – no one I'd met had seemed worth the time. I enjoyed my solitude and the option to run back to my house to bask in the alone time I always craved.

Clayton's face fell slightly. "Nah, I get it. You hate me. I waited too long, I disappeared –"

"I don't hate you, dumbass." I shook my head at him and rolled my eyes for good measure. "I literally don't date. I haven't for years and I don't want to burden someone with how ridiculously boring I am."

"You're not boring!"

I fixed Clayton with a skeptical look and stood from my chair, preparing to head home. "Clay, I'm an accountant with an affinity for chai and knitting. The Coffee Shoppe is the most exciting place I willingly go on a Friday."

Brown eyes closed as Clayton shook his head. I grabbed my empty mug and made to make my way back up to the counter, but Clayton was up and snagged the mug from my hands before I had the time to gasp. He grinned at me again as he backed away, heading back behind the counter to return to his shift. "Alright, I don't think you're _that_ boring, but if you say so. I'll convince you!"

I rolled my eyes at the man and made my way to the exit. Waving, I said goodbye to Clayton and the other baristas before heading out. The bells hanging above the door jingled as I stepped out on to the sidewalk and sighed. It was already after 6 o'clock but the traffic was still heavy. I made it to the corner and pressed the button to cross the street, contemplating the strangeness of the day as I waited.

Being asked out by David was beginning to become a habit, but Clayton? Now, that was just odd. We'd become friends, but hadn't really ever taken the time to spend time together outside of the Coffee Shoppe. I felt rattled and elected a night of laziness, coupled with the possibility of a glass of wine and a bubble bath, was in order.

The lights changed at the crosswalk and I heard a loud 'ding' to signal it was safe for me to cross. I stepped down into the street, trying to remember exactly what, if any, wine I had in my home.

The horrible sound of tires screeching drew me from my contemplation. I turned to look over my shoulder, just in time to see a green sedan whirling into the same lane I was now standing in. I didn't realize exactly what direction it was heading until the millisecond before it hit me. My legs crumpled beneath me as the corner of the front bumper slammed into me. My body spun and slammed into the side of the car; my shoulder cracked a window.

I was far more aware of the situation when I was flat on my back. The car had slammed to a halt by running into a light post. My arms, torso, and hips were on fire. I could hear a person screaming from the sidewalk. Breathing in shallow gasps, I attempted to keep my eyes open as pain spread through my body. My brain wanted to shut down, to save me from the pain, but I refused. Shouts of onlookers were muffled.

 _'Call 911!'_

 _'Is she alive?!'_

 _'What in the hell happened?'_

 _'What was that guy thinking?!'_

"Ria!"

Oh. That was my name. I looked around as much as I could, trying to remain still in case I had injured my spine. My eyes stung – I think my forehead was bleeding. I wanted to wipe it away from my eye, but my joints screamed when I twitched my arm.

"Ria!" There was a blurry figure above me – male, dark hair glasses.

"Cl-Clayton?" I gritted my teeth as I gasped and pain bloomed in my chest. "The… the asshole that – that hit me…"

Clayton attempted to shush me and pressed a small towel to my head. I could detect the smell of coffee and I briefly wondered if the used towel would get coffee in my bloodstream. The fabric was soaking up the blood from my face, though; I must have been cut.

"No, tell me…" My voice croaked and I gasped again from the pain. I was beginning to feel just a touch angry. "Is… is he okay?"

Clayton sighed and he placed his other hand on the other side of my head, stroking my hair. It felt kind of nice… "Yeah, Ria. He's okay."

"Good." I bared my teeth in a scowl and ground out, "'cause I'm going to fucking kill him."

Clayton let out a choked laugh. Shaking his head, he called out to the crowd who'd gathered to find out where the ambulance was.

Something cut through my pain – the fire that was burning in my chest was beginning to die down. I wondered if it was adrenaline from my anger that had begun to build at the driver. A tingling sensation spread across my hairline and underneath the towel Clayton still had pressed against my head.

"The ambulance is almost here, Ria." I focused on Clayton's face again. He was examining my face for any more cuts and made to pull the towel back just to check on the wound. I watched as his facial expression changed from worry to utter shock as he pulled the fabric away.

"Clay, w-what's wrong?" I must have had quite the blow to the head – in the next millisecond, Clayton's look of shock had disappeared completely and he stared down at me. Shaking his head, he let out a sharp laugh.

"You got hit by a car, Ria. That's what's wrong." A small part of my brain wanted to argue – something, some kind of emotion had crossed his face. Something else was wrong and he wasn't letting on. "Ria, the ambulance is almost here."

Confusion gnawed at me. His voice was suddenly muffled, as though someone had stuffed my ears with those little cotton balls and he had backed up a few hundred feet to talk to me. There was black around my vision.

When did I get so sleepy? My eyes continually drooped closed and my will to keep them open was fading. A quick nap sounded like a very good idea to my rattled brains. Closing my eyes just for a moment wouldn't hurt, right? The ambulance was almost here, they would give me something to go to sleep – why not beat them to the punch?

Clayton continued to talk at me in muffled tones, but I ignored him as I gave in to the overwhelming need to just… stop… thinking.

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 **Au** **thor's Note:** I am so excited to be writing again. This story has been a long-time coming. I have been attempting to write a Yu Yu Hakusho story for years. However, I finally feel like I am getting into the swing of my writing style. Also, it's much easier to write when you have a plan for a story… I had a previous story up, but it was… just gross. Terrible writing, no definite plot, and basically every cliché possible in fanfiction. But, it's gone now.

I worked on this story for months before deciding to post the first chapter. I wrote over 50,000 words before this particular chapter was even complete. I apologize if there are mistakes, I don't have a Beta reader currently.

Again, I'm excited to be writing. This is a slow build story, just forewarning you. I will be updating once a month – twice a month if I get excited.

 _Side note_ : This is the second draft posting of chapter one. (4/26/16)


	2. Two

**ATTENTION:** There is a poll on my profile! Please think about answering as I'm curious as to what the community thinks on the topic. Thank you!

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I was not as groggy as I expected when I woke up. I had been awake for at least a full minute before I even opened my eyes, allowing my brain to recap on what had happened.

An idiot had taken the turn too fast and clipped me with his car. I didn't doubt that there were broken bones somewhere in my body.

I cracked one eye open to be met with a barrage of white. Hospitals' overabundance of it always made me uncomfortable, but at least I felt cozy wrapped in the snowy blankets.

My other eye opened slowly until I felt I could see as much as possible without blinding myself. My entire face felt tender, even blinking made me all too aware of the pain lingering.

I didn't have a neck brace on, which surprised me, so I was able to look around with ease.

I was in a standard hospital bed in a room that could house two other patients beside myself; I was in the bed at the very end of the room. However, the extras were empty at the moment and I gave an internal sigh of relief for the privacy. There was as television on the wall directly opposite me, the channel settled on some odd infomercial. The volume had been muted, so the overacting was even more exaggerated.

I turned my head to the other side to find a small recliner positioned to face my bed. Its sleeping occupant was bundled up under a thin pink blanket pulled up over half of its face. I recognized the long nose and glasses set haphazardly on it.

I coughed slightly, both readying my vocal chords and hoping to signal Clayton that I was awake. He remained still.

I cleared my throat a little more loudly this time, but apparently the man was a light sleeper. I tried his name several times and even called him some colorful words, but all I got in response was a twitch in his shoulders.

Looking around, I saw a box of tissues on the stand next to my bed. I moved slowly, treating my body like glass. Thankfully, the arm I moved was not the one that had broken one of the windows on the car. I was still sore, but not so much that I couldn't reach over to grab the light box. I balanced it in my hand as best I could, then chucked it at Clayton's head.

He woke with a start, limbs and blanket thrown wildly around. I chuckled more to myself than outwardly at his antics, but at least I got his attention. When he had settled down, his hands gripped the arm of the chair and his eyes were wide as they stared me down.

"'Morning, Sleeping Beauty." My voice was rough, even with my attempts to clear my throat. Clayton sat up and handed me a small cup of water from the small tray used to extend over the bed. I drank only a little of the ice water, enough to soothe my sore throat.

"How are you doing? Are you feeling okay? Do I need to get the nurse? Do you hurt? What can I get you?"

I must have rattled him by waking him up so violently, but it was his own fault for being such a heavy sleeper. He spoke extremely fast, offending my tired mind.

I held up a hand to make him stop talking, which he did immediately. "I'm okay, I think. Don't bother the nurse, I'm not in a lot of pain. Just get me an explanation."

He sighed and sat back down as I relaxed. He looked almost as tired as I felt.

"You got hit by a car-"

"Yeah, yeah, I got that part. What happened after I passed out? Why are you here?" I saw hurt flash across his face. I grimaced. "No offense, but you're not family."

Clayton shook his head and took a deep breath to settle himself.

"Your emergency contact number they had on file had been disconnected. I was the only one around who knew who you were, so they let me come with you. I had to sweet talk a nurse to let me stay here past visiting hours though." He took a moment to find his charm again and winked at me.

I shook my head and rolled my eyes; he was ever the flirt. I then motioned for him to continue.

"Oh, right. Uh, well… you got hit and passed out, the ambulance got there. They were just around the corner, so you got lucky there. They got you all situated and took you to the hospital, but they wouldn't let me ride with you. So I don't know what happened after they got you here. When I finally got to see you a couple hours later, all they told me was it was a complete and absolute miracle you didn't have any broken bones or internal bleeding. Just some bumps and bruises. I've been here ever since, which was only last night. It's about noon, I think."

I tried to wrap my head around the whole situation as Clayton began to ramble on about specifics of his own situation and how he had been able to stay past visiting hours.

Somehow, after being hit by a car and smashing my shoulder into the window hard enough to crack the glass, I had woken up several hours later to no cuts and no broken bones. That was some damn miracle.

I tried to ignore the odd sensation I had in the pit of my stomach thinking about Clayton staying with me the whole time. He wasn't family, I had turned him down for a date; he was just my barista, for God's sake! Why was he being so sweet?

I rubbed my head tenderly, I was extremely sore still for not breaking any bones. I interrupted Clay's ramblings, "I thought I had a cut on my head, or did I dream that?"

Clayton met my eyes and opened his mouth to speak, but he immediately closed it again. Was I going crazy?

"What?" The sinking feeling in my stomach increased and I felt my anxiety begin to rise in my chest.

Clayton hung his head and rubbed his face with his hand. "Ria, you did have a cut. A pretty big one, I thought but…" He looked back up at me. "It's just gone."

My brow furrowed. I was sure he was joking with me. "I'm pretty sure scalp cuts don't just get up and walk away, Clay."

He rolled his eyes at my rhyme, which I hadn't been able to resist. "Ria… It was the freakiest thing I've seen in a long time. You healed… just like that!" He snapped his fingers to emphasize.

His voice was serious as he fixed me with his dark brown eyes. I didn't want to believe him – but I'd felt the blood fall from the gash and drip into my eyes. I hadn't dreamed it.

I wanted to see worry in his eyes, or maybe even fear at this ridiculous feat that had occurred. But Clayton's face was nothing but restrained excitement and awe. He was putting on a show for me – to him, this wasn't freaky, as he had put it.

I could see the pure exhilaration in his expression. The sinking feeling in my stomach returned. I knew it wasn't from my injuries and I couldn't stop my body from recoiling as he leaned forward.

I was saved from the uncomfortable situation by a petite woman in scrubs walking into the room. "Oh, look who's awake! Miss Malinov, how are you feeling?"

She walked up to the end of my bed and grabbed my chart, unaware of the awkward situation she had just freed me from.

"I feel okay, just sore." I glanced over at Clayton, who had leaned back in his chair. His face had smoothed back into a more relaxed expression.

"Well, I'd be lying if I wasn't hoping you'd at least be sore. I am Dr. Rabin, by the way, I'm a resident here. I was going to be the one taking care of you, but you've pretty much astounded the entire medical staff here!"

She was smiling at me, but not in the way Clayton had been. She began to check my heartbeat, blood pressure, reflexes, and optical response as she explained that I must have been in the perfect place for the car to hit me. While I did have some bruising along the bones in my leg and shoulder, that had been the extent of my injuries. She praised me on drinking so much milk when I was younger to have such strong bones.

She was gradually cheering me up with her little quips, but my exhaustion was taking over. I just wanted to relax. She even gave me a small mirror from her pocket so I could see the extent of damage on my face.

I could see the blossoming of the bruise on my shoulder from the edge of my hospital gown. I was sure it was going to be impressive when I got to see the whole of it. I had a scrape at the edge of my lips and a bruise stretching from my scalp to my eye. It must have been from when I landed against the street. My hair was still in the messy braid I'd pulled together yesterday, but the light brown had turned dark with the sweat and grease. All in all, I just looked like I had lost a fight. Granted, it was a fight with a car, but I digress.

"So when do I get to go home?" I caught Dr. Rabin before she could start again on how it was just amazing how little I was hurt from being hit.

She gave me a soft smile and glanced at the chart again. "Since we checked and double checked all of your information when you came in, mostly because we just couldn't believe it, we honestly don't see any reason for you to stay any longer than you have to. I'll get the paperwork going so you can be home today."

She nodded to Clayton and scampered on out of the room. I sighed and turned back to Clayton, pushing our last conversation to the back of my mind. I was just exhausted, I was seeing things in his expressions that weren't there. At least, that's what I kept telling myself.

"See? I told you it was a miracle."

I glared at him. "I'm pretty sure you also said 'freaky,' Clay. At least I can go home today…" I softened my eyes to pout at him. "Wanna drive me home? I'm pretty sure my car is still parked downtown."

He shook his head and gave me a slight grin. "Yeah, I'll take you home. Oh, I have some stuff for you." Clayton reached down to grab a small bag at his feet. "They had to cut your jeans and shirt, so I got you some other clothes down at the gift shop. Didn't think you'd want to walk around in a hospital gown."

I shook my head as I dug through the plastic bag. It was true, my jeans were cut and my blouse looked more like it had been ripped open. I had been lucky to be wearing a strapless bra that clasped in the front, so the hospital hadn't had to destroy it to get it off.

A nurse came in to help me remove the IV and monitors as soon as my discharge paperwork went through. I snuck into the bathroom to change into the loose sweatpants and tank top. Clayton had misjudged the size of pants as they hung low on my hips, but the tank top fit fairly well. After exiting the bathroom, I made my way downstairs with Clayton. Since I had been in an accident, they wheeled me down in a wheelchair and waited while Clayton brought the car around.

Clayton's Prius wasn't my favorite, but it had just enough room for me to lay back and relax. We had been driving for just a few minutes, but I was having trouble staying awake from sheer fatigue.

"Hey Clay," my voice was groggy. "Thanks for taking care of me; that was really sweet of you."

Clayton just smiled and kept his eyes on the road, chuckling to himself. I turned to look back out the window, hoping to find something to keep my mind on to keep me awake.

I watched as he missed the turn to head towards my neighborhood.

"Um, Clay, I live back that way." I mumbled at the man, sitting up straighter in my seat. His long fingers gripped the steering wheel tighter.

"I know, Ria."

The sinking feeling was back – I felt as though I would get sick at any moment. "Clay, we can get my car later. I just want to go home and sleep."

Clayton reached over to rub the top of my back. I watched as he took the exit that turned onto the main highway. What was going on?

Brown eyes glanced over at me and I saw the exhilaration I had seen back in the hospital room. At first I had thought it was similar to the expression children wore when they discovered they were going to Disneyland for the first time. But the emotion behind his eyes was not typical… His excitement was reminded me of a dog who has raw chicken dangled in front of it – maniacal.

"Oh, Ria. Sweet Ria." He gripped the back of my neck. My entire body tensed as I broke into a cold sweat. "I am going to take you back to my homeland. And I am going to find out why you've been lying to me."

I had no idea what he meant. I hadn't lied to the man about anything. I had told him where I lived, how I was feeling. Even in our conversations before at the Coffee Shoppe, I had yet to tell him a fib.

"I haven't lied-"

He cut me off, revealing his intentions. "You have a fantastic healing ability. And I want it."

My body went cold as I recognized my fight or flight response – all the blood had rushed to my legs, but I had nowhere to go. I needed to get out of the car, but I was too drained to fight him. And he knew it.

"Clayton, please."

The grip on the back of my neck tightened to the point of pain as he used an immense amount of strength I didn't know he was capable of to propel my head directly into his dashboard. A splitting pain spread from my forehead as I screamed in pain and pulled back, but on his second attempt to smash my head into the dash I realized he had succeeded when my world faded into the black of unconsciousness.

* * *

I never fully woke up in the days following. There were only three vague moments where I became aware for only a few seconds.

The first was not long after he knocked me out. I opened my eyes to see him leaning over me, both of us still in the car. He held the cap to a syringe between his teeth, the needle already placed in my arm. I didn't even have the time to comprehend what he was doing as I slipped under again.

The second was when he lifted me from the car. I opened my eyes long enough to see him carrying me to some kind of cargo plane. The loud noise of the engines must have roused me, but it didn't last long.

The third time must have been some time after we landed. I was in the back of a taxi with my head on Clayton's lap. He was stroking my hair and talking to the driver. I couldn't understand any of the words that came from him, I could tell from his tone of voice he was reassuring the driver nothing was wrong.

I wanted to badly to cry out, to tell him everything was not all right. However, I couldn't even lift my arm to slap Clayton's hand away. I hated that he was stroking my hair, something that under the right circumstances I would have enjoyed immensely. His touch did nothing but disgust me now.

My vision began to fade again as I slipped back into unconsciousness.

* * *

When whatever drug he had injected me with eventually faded from my system, I woke to a splitting headache. I still felt so drowsy, I could barely open my eyes. I could feel my throat working to make some kind of displeased moaning sounds. They were muffled, though, by the material tied around my head and stuffed into my mouth. Making any noise wouldn't help my situation.

I squinted my eyes as I attempted to open them as much as I could. There was a light just above me, shining all too brightly into my sensitive receptors. I had to blink faster to make my eyes stop watering from the glaring light. When my sight had adjusted enough, I took in my state. The room was empty save for me, from what I could tell initially.

I became vaguely aware that I was uncomfortable to the point of pain. My arms were pulled above my head loosely. I could feel cold metal pressed against my wrists and the first word that came to my mind was 'shackles.' There was metal at my back, too. I was laying on something, as I guessed from my horizontal position. It wasn't on the ground, however, as I raised my head up as far as I could go without causing more discomfort. I could see the edges of the metal table and a dirty concrete floor beyond.

There was a light, evenly distributed pressure against my abdomen. I glanced down, noting the thick strap wrenched across the tops of my hips, holding me down. There was another across my knees and across my ankles. I was not going to be getting off this table any time soon.

I shifted my body, attempting to relieve the discomfort I had in every single one of my muscles. My head hurt the most, I'm sure it was mostly from having my forehead slammed into the dash of Clayton's car.

Clayton.

Where was that mother fucker? I was suddenly very angry – a man I had known for years had just up and decided to turn into a megalomaniac, kidnapping me and knocking me unconscious by force and by chemical means.

I squirmed in my restraints, my anger dulling my pain. I bit down into the material that gagged me, trying to move it around so I could scream. It was tied too tightly, though, and I gave up after a few fruitless moments.

I jerked my body around, suddenly fueled by the anger I held for Clayton. The table moved underneath me and scraped against the concrete floor.

I froze as I heard the loud whining of a rusty door opening. I still had my head held up as I watched a door directly across from me opening, flooding my vision with light. I had to squint my eyes yet again as this light assaulted my sight.

"Well, lookie who woke up!"

The heavy metal door slammed and he was next to me in an instant, far faster than could be considered normal. I flinched away from him, but he grabbed my forearm and held me still. His mouth was wide in an all-teeth smile. I'd never been more frightened by a smile.

Clayton released me long enough to reach out of my view and pull up a stool next to my table. There was a smaller table pulled along with the stool, and I heard the clinking of small metal on top of it.

"Did you have a nice nap, Ria?" His voice was overly sweet as he reached for something on the smaller table. I was briefly curious as to what he had on the table, but it was replaced with absolute panic as he held each scalpel up to the light and examined the sharp edges.

I felt my fear overtake my muscles and tears begin to stream from my eyes. I sobbed and screamed into the material as he smiled at the scalpel in his hand, one of the serrated of his selection.

He turned back to me, his face turning inquisitive as he listened to my screams. "I'm sorry, sweetheart, what was that? I'm afraid you mumbled."

I cried out again, wrenching my body as much as possible and causing the table to shift and scrape against the floor. Clayton's empty hand reached forward and grabbed me by the cheeks. I whimpered at his painful grasp, a fresh wave of tears spilling over as his skin on mine made my stomach churn.

"Now, Ria, if you struggle, it will only make it worse for you." He smiled as his grip lessened and he stroked my jawline with his fingers. "Granted, it will be better for me if you struggle, but that's not the point!"

I wanted to vomit. The feel of his touch on my face disgusted me so much that I felt the sting of bile building in my throat.

I screamed into my gag again and Clayton's expression changed. His inquisitive look darkened as his hand moved from my jaw to slam against my throat. My scream was cut short as he cut my air supply. It was only for a moment as he immediately lessened his grip, but his hand remained on my throat. I began coughing harshly into the material.

"Screaming does nothing, Ria. It's all soundproof. No one will hear you."

Clayton's hand pulled away from my throat and I took in a deep inhale through my nose. I was breathing hard now, my entire body tensed in fear.

"Besides…" His hands were at my side now, pulling at the hem of the tank top he had gotten me back in the hospital. He pulled the material up and I felt his fingers on the skin at the bottom of my ribs. His entire hand splayed against me as he pulled the skin taunt. "We are _just_ getting started."

He turned to smile at me, the sickly sweet smile he had so often given me back in the Coffee Shoppe.

I cursed at him though the gag, a string of insults sticking to my tongue and to the dry material. I'm sure he could understand what I was trying to convey.

He turned back to view the skin of my side and stomach. "Don't work yourself up too much now, my dear. Your healing powers may take a few times to come out."

My body froze as I felt the serrated edge of the scalpel touch my side.

"But don't you worry. I'm a patient man. I can pull it out of you slowly."

He pressed down then on the scalpel and I felt it bite into my flesh, my blood beginning to drip down my side. My screams were muffled by the gag as he pulled the sharp edge along the bottom of my ribs.

* * *

Yusuke waved as he approached the two demons waiting for him. He had to close his ramen stand early to come meet them and he grumbled silently to himself that he wasn't home with Keiko on her day off. He was glad to see the two, though. It had been a while.

"Kurama, didn't know Koenma had dragged you and Hiei into this mess, too."

The red-head nodded at Yusuke. "Yes, unfortunately both Hiei and I weren't preoccupied at the time he came to us to ask for our assistance."

Yusuke shook Kurama's hand and nodded at the shorter fire demon. Hiei's nod back was barely perceptible, but Yusuke appreciated it nonetheless.

"So what did Binky Breath tell you two, because he kept it short and simple here?" Yusuke's hands were shoved into his pockets.

Hiei's hands were also hidden in his own pockets. "All he said was there was an unnatural energy coming from a warehouse. I don't see why we were needed; I doubt this is important enough for more than you to handle, Yusuke."

Kurama's head turned to the side as he regarded the other demons. "Koenma told me it seemed to be a distress call – like the energy was reaching out to find help. I think it may be more than he is letting on. He seemed panicked to me, almost scared."

Yusuke frowned. "Yeah, he seemed like he was hiding how big this really is." He sighed before grinning at the other two. "Well, at least we won't get rusty if Koenma keeps running us around. Let's get this over with!"

* * *

 **A/N:** Chapter two up a week early! Just because I couldn't contain my excitement. I am really very pleased at the traffic this story had on just the first chapter! And the fact that a few of you have reviewed already was just icing on the cake. Thank you!

Don't hate me 'cause I only update once a month, please. Life gets in the way quite often and I try to go through several drafts of a chapter so it comes out just right.

Please review and follow! Thank you!


	3. Three

**Warning** **: This story is rated M for language, sexual situations, and descriptions of gore, torture, and emotional distress. This chapter includes these themes. If you are uncomfortable with any of the aforementioned, I suggest you find another story to enjoy.**

 **Otherwise, please proceed.**

* * *

I gasped and sputtered as the ice cold water drew me from unconsciousness. From what I could remember, this was at least the fifth time that Clayton had to rouse me like this. He had overestimated my threshold for pain. I could feel the pinpricks of the incisions along my sides.

Unfortunately for the both of us, my so-called healing power never showed itself. Clayton would make small comments occasionally about my "energy" flashing, but never enough to heal me. My blood continued to drip slowly down my sides when he would dig the scalpel in. At several points he had even scraped against the bone of my ribs, the pain causing me to pass out this most recent time.

Clayton was using the leftover water to rinse my blood from his hands. The white towel he used to wipe his skin now stained red.

"You are just so damn frustrating, little girl." Clayton was shaking his head as he looked over at me. He threw the towel down on the small table as I panted into my gag. I was exhausted – I had no idea how long he had kept me up. "You're lucky I'm running out of steam, or we'd _really_ get this party going."

I shuddered to think of what he considered a 'party.' I _was_ lucky, though, that he was finally growing tired. Maybe he would let me sleep. Maybe my body would just never wake up…

I watched out of the corner of my eye as Clayton drew a phone out of his pocket. "Hm, friends want to meet for dinner... Guess I better get cleaned up!"

He shoved the phone back in his pocket before slamming his hands on either side of my shoulders. I flinched and whined as he leaned over me. My hands were still pulled above my head, so I couldn't push him away.

"Lucky, little girl. I need a break, so you get one, too. Be good while I'm gone and I may even bring you a treat back."

I squirmed, trying to keep my head fully turned to the side as he leaned over me and squeezed my eyes shut. Even with the immense pain coming from my sides, my muscles contracted in an attempt to get away from the man. He didn't shift, however – he just hovered over me, observing me.

One hand moved to slide down the underside of my arm and down to my rib cage, slowing as he dragged over the incisions. I cried out again as I felt the forming scabs pull and break with his rough touch. His hand continued farther down, his palm against my hip bone. He twisted his wrist and let his fingers dip beneath the waistband of the sweatpants he had purchased for me back in the hospital.

My stomach dropped and my breath hitched, lungs suddenly unable to cooperate. I whimpered, though, feeling my thighs clench together instinctively. Clayton's fingers didn't go any lower than my waistband, thankfully. He kept the light pressure at the tips of his fingers and dragged his hand along my torso, back and forth. I could feel the bile welling up in my throat at the sensation of the smooth pads of his fingers running a line between my hip bones.

"Maybe we should get the party going before I leave…" His voice drifted all too smoothly as he paused his hand in the middle of its run; I cried out with a harsh sob. As quickly as it had started, he withdrew his hand. With a quick shove, he launched himself back from the table and chuckled. "Don't fret… I'll be back soon, Ria!"

I cracked an eye to see him waving at me before disappearing behind the door that lay directly across from my perch. I waited for another moment, holding my breath as I anticipated him to come bursting back through the door to continue his slicing.

When the minute passed and he didn't come back, I finally let my body relax. Although, I regretted it almost instantly. My muscles movement, even to relax, was painful to the cuts that were beginning to scab over on my ribs. I let go, then, and began to cry in earnest.

I don't know how I had any tears left in me. I had cried and screamed when Clayton's scalpels cut into my ribs again and again. He had let them scab over, then sliced right through the dried blood. I could feel each of them – 20 on each of my sides beginning just below my breast line and stopping at the tops of my hips. They were each at least six inches in length.

Clayton, while mainly being a sadistic megalomaniac, also seemed to be a compulsive perfectionist. Each of my cuts were a specific width apart, exactly the same length, and at one point he had told me that he was limiting how deep he would cut into me so he wouldn't get any major organs.

 _So_ considerate.

I shifted uncomfortably in my restraints. I was covered in a layer of sweat and blood; my tears were now dried on my cheeks as my sobbing stilled. I had no idea how long he had kept me here, but I knew I was dehydrated and hungry. I did my best to squeeze what little water had been soaked up by my gag when Clayton had thrown the bucket of ice water on me earlier. It wasn't much, but it stopped the cloth rag from sticking to my tongue.

Beyond the thirst and hunger, I was absolutely exhausted. The terror of someone I thought was a friend kidnapping me, slicing me open, and… touching me took everything out of me. I was spent.

I pulled at the chains on my wrists weakly, but I had no strength left to fight them fully. I hadn't eaten in what felt like several days. With nothing to fuel me, my body refused to cooperate in my will to escape. I shifted, wincing at the pain again and trying to make myself as comfortable as possible.

I wanted to say that I still had the will to fight Clayton, to be rid of the chains, and to eventually escape from this nightmare. I wanted to say I was a strong woman who could overcome anything. I wanted to believe I had a chance. But my mind was already going numb.

Years ago, I had determined the best way to deal with emotional hardship was to block out all of my emotions and refuse to feel anything. I hadn't even cried at my adoptive mother's funeral. She had passed within a few months of my adoptive father and I had shut down after his death. I hadn't even wanted to care for them in the first place, but they had taken me in at 16. Why would anyone want a 16 year old foster kid with no memories and an attitude problem? I hadn't even known how I became part of the System. The fact that the older couple wanted to _adopt_ me at all was shocking to everyone. Both adults and kids in the System said I should have been skeptical, but I had caved to the amount of parental love they poured out for me. I only had three years with them and I'd shut down when they were gone. I had shunned friends and ignored old relationships to save myself from the anguish I had felt. Now, it was second nature. My subconscious had given up… and the rest of my body was following suit.

I resigned to give in to the overwhelming need to sleep. I twitched again, trying to find the least painful position. I let my aching eyes close, my swollen lids burning from the constant flow of tears. My mind drifted to what must have been just last week – avoiding my lecherous boss, joking with Garrett and Angie, brushing off David's obvious attempts at flirting… Why couldn't I have continued my normal little life? It wasn't an exciting life, and I'm sure there were several of my old classmates who would have out rightly called it boring, but it was mine. I had been content. What had I done to deserve this treatment?

My tears continued to roll down my cheeks for several moments after I had succumbed to my exhaustion and fell into a troubled sleep.

* * *

I jolted awake to the squealing of the door hinges opening again. I squeezed my eyes shut immediately, not ready for the assault I'm sure Clayton was dying to start again. I had hoped that my body would have given up and just not allowed me to wake up again after this ordeal.

I heard soft gasps come from the doorway. My eyes flew open – there was more than one person who entered the warehouse. I began to panic. If Clayton had come back with his so-called friends, what fresh hell would I have to endure now?

I wished harder than ever that my heart would just give out; that my body would just give in to the amount of blood I had lost. I heard the shifting of feet, now running towards me. How many were there? Two? Three?

I was hyperventilating now, my sob-screams muffled by the gag. My eyes stung with tears I didn't know I had as I stared at the bright light above me. Clayton was bad enough, but if his friends were even half as fucked up as he was then I was absolutely ready for my body to give up.

My view of the light was blocked as someone stood over me. I could tell by the shorter stature that it wasn't Clayton. I closed my eyes again, flinching away with another muffled scream. My chest was heaving with my panicked breaths.

The male was suddenly talking to me, in what was almost soothing tones. I didn't trust it – Clayton had talked to me in soothing tones, as well. That didn't change the fact that he was mutilating my skin.

I couldn't understand any of the words that came out of his mouth, nor did I open my eyes to get a look at him. I felt him move around to the top of the table where my hands were shackled together with thick cuffs and a chain connecting. They were heavy against my skin, but I still pulled at them, attempting futilely to put space between his body and my hands.

I felt a sharp tug at the taught chain, pulling at my arms. I cried out again as the skin on my ribs and sides was pulled with the jerking motion. In the next second, though, I felt the chain go slack. My breathing slowed, my panic interrupted, and my eyes shot open as I realized I could pull my arms back over my head. I did so slowly, blinking at the bright light as I tried to get a look at the person who had just released my hands.

He was upside down in my view, but what appeared to be a young man was holding a broken piece of chain in his hand. He let it drop as he noticed me looking at him. Had I truly been so exhausted that I couldn't have broken a rusty chain? That would have been the only way he could have removed it so quickly…

He began talking again in those soothing tones, his natural voice fairly gruff to match the greased back brown hair he sported. I didn't understand any of the words, although I recognized the similar pronunciation of words that Clayton had used when he voiced his frustrations in Japanese.

Clayton had talked quite a bit during my torture.

I had pulled my hands down so they were settled at my chest. I was so stiff from being locked in that position for so long it was fairly painful to make my shoulders roll back to their proper position. I glanced down at my hands then back up at the man, shaking my head.

I heard a shuffling to my side and I flinched harshly as I turned, trying to find the source. There was another young man standing at my side, with his hands raised in an attempt to show me he meant no harm. At least, I assume it was a man considering he was fairly effeminate and his long hair was a bright ruby red.

He looked at me with such pity that I couldn't help the sob that escaped me. He shushed me gently, then motioned to his mouth and pointed to me. He was indicating my gag, and I assumed he meant to take it off. I eyed him warily for a moment, then gave one short nod.

He moved towards me again and I couldn't help flinching. He stilled, then moved more slowly. His hands reached out to both sides of my head and I lifted my neck just enough for his hands to slip behind. I felt terrible as my neck was thoroughly caked in sweat and my hair was greasy from lack of a shower. I could feel his long fingers working at the knot on the gag, making quick work of it. He pulled the ends of the cloth gently away and I lay my head back down as my mouth was finally free of the nasty piece.

I coughed and worked my tongue around my mouth, swallowing every so often to get my saliva built up again. I glanced up at the red-head with tired eyes, relief threatening to wash over me if I didn't remain skeptical. He had tossed the gag to the floor and his bright green eyes scanned my face. He spoke again in a slow sentence, his words the same dialect that the brown-haired boy had spoken in. I shook my head again and licked my chapped lips.

"I don't understand." My voice was cracked, my throat dry and sore from all of my screaming. I winced and closed my eyes in the slight pain. There was a slight 'whoosh'-ing sound and I felt the pressure on my hips and legs release. I opened my eyes to glance down at the end of the table. The straps that had been holding me were broken, sliced through at the edge of the table. There was another man, this one shorter than the other two by several inches. He was dressed all in black with black spiked hair. I saw the flash of the sword that he sheathed as he glanced back up at me. His expression was entirely bored. I must have been delirious, though, for I could have sworn that just for a second his eyes looked red to me. It made me still in fear; the unnatural coloring disturbed me.

I should have been more disturbed by the sword, in hindsight.

"Oh, you speak English?" My attention was drawn back to the red-head, his accented words finally making sense to my tired mind. I nodded in reply. "Are you alright to sit up? Can I help you?"

I moved to lift myself up and he rushed to place his hands beneath my shoulders. I flinched as the brown-haired boy moved to my other side to aid, as well. He and I both ignored my body's reaction and worked on moving me into a sitting position. Finally upright, my head swam. I brought my hands up to clutch my head, noticing that the shackles were still attached to my wrists.

I was shaking, violently so from what I could tell looking at my hands. Whether with relief or exhaustion, I wasn't sure. I looked back up at the red-head, hoping to find some guidance from his calm and comforting presence. He wasn't looking at my face, but at my sides and the table behind me. His expression was hard, his eyes flashing angrily. I wondered briefly how much blood was caked to my back. Green eyes flickered back to find my gaze on him. He tilted his head to the side and I saw his expression soften.

"We are here to help you." I could feel relief wash over me as those words poured from his mouth. I could feel a sob choke out from my throat as I moved my legs slowly, bringing my knees up even though they were stiff and painful. I felt the scabs pulling at my sides again and I hastily tried to pull my tank top down to hide them. The red head's hand reached out to place his fingertips on my forearm, effectively stilling me. "What is your name?"

I heard the smaller man dressed in black address the red-head, his deeper voice dripping with annoyance. I didn't have to understand their language to get the inflection. The red head spoke quietly back to him, but the black haired man gave an 'hn' of indignation.

My eyes stung with tears, just honestly glad to hear someone else's voice other than Clayton's. "Ria."

"How long have you been in this place, Ria?"

I shook my head and looked back at the other man who had helped me up. He was attempting not to stare at the space of my body I had just covered up, anger evident in his expression. "I-I don't know. It was Saturday when…" I trailed off. "Who… who are you?"

The red head gave a short nod. "You can call me Kurama. Can you stand?"

Kurama… I would have to ask for the others' names later, but just having the one gave me a little solace. "I can try."

I shifted my body, spinning on the table to face Kurama as he took a step to the side to give me some space. I looked down to see that the table was several feet off the ground. I knew my legs would give out if I had to jump down, so I glanced up at Kurama.

He seemed to know my thoughts on the matter and made slow movements towards me, taking my forearm gently and sliding over his shoulders. He slipped his opposite arm under my knee and I braced myself against the table with my other hand. He pulled me slowly forward as I put all of my weight on my hand, my side burning in pain with the strain of it.

Far slower than I had hoped, I moved one leg off Kurama's arm to step onto the floor. However, from there it was easy to get my balance. I was still woozy and the room spun for a moment. I was glad Kurama stayed next to me to keep me steady. He was several inches taller than me, probably a good 5'9".

He kept his hand on the middle of my back as an anchor for my balance. "Are you able to walk? We would like to remove you from this place."

I wanted to walk so badly, but the utter relief of knowing I wouldn't be subjected to Clayton anymore ended up making me more exhausted than energized. I looked up at Kurama with tired eyes and shook my head. "I don't think so. But I want to… I can't be here anymore!"

I began sobbing again, although I think my body had finally run out of tears as only two slid down my cheeks. I gripped Kurama's sleeve on his bicep with the hand that had been around his shoulders. He was speaking quietly to me, soothing me that he and his friends would take me away from here. I kept nodding even as I continued to cry tearlessly. "Yes, please, I want to leave!"

"Leave?" My breath caught in my throat as I heard his voice carry from the doorway the three men had left open. It was almost amused in tone, but I knew Clayton's amusement was seated in sadism. "Why would you want to leave me, Ria?"

I dug my fingers into Kurama's arm, gripping him as hard as I could. I looked up at him to find his bright green eyes had narrowed and were set at the man in the doorway. My heart felt like it had stopped and then resumed at double its normal pace. I was breathing hard again, my eyes wide as I finally looked at the doorway.

Clayton had changed into a fresh set of clothes, a simple white button-up and pressed dark wash jeans. He had a plastic bag that was half full in one hand and what appeared to be a container of leftovers from his dinner with friends. He was utterly calm as he glanced at the other two men near me, both of whom had taken offensive stances like they were about to attack him.

The man with the slicked back hair was talking again, this time through clenched teeth. He had seen my cuts and my reaction to the Clayton – and he seemed to be taking it personally. I was grateful and terrified all in the same moment.

Clayton turned to the young man, speaking right back at him in the language. It must be Japanese, for certain, if Clayton was speaking it back.

I could feel Kurama's muscles tense under my hand. He took a step forward to place himself more in front of me. I refused to let go of him.

Clayton's eyes snapped over to me, his intense gaze first resting on me in entirety to notice I was on my feet. His gaze drifted to my hand clenched on Kurama's arm, and then onto Kurama's hand still in the middle of my back to hold me up; he had pressed me closer to him as he stepped forward.

I thought for a moment Clayton's eyes were going to pop out of his head with how wide they grew at the sight of Kurama's hand on me. I wish I could say that I was dreaming, that this was all a nightmare, more so than ever before as Clayton's eyes flashed and turned completely white. He snarled and bared his teeth at the red-head, each tooth lengthening and shaping down into sharp fangs. I swear, my heart must have stopped as I watched him change.

"Get your hands off my Ria!" Clayton screamed at Kurama as he dropped the bag and food, spilling their contents to the floor. He reached back to the side of the doorway, pulling out what appeared to be a longsword from a hidden spot. Continuing in the unnatural state of things, he leapt at us with inhumane speed to swing his sword down at Kurama.

With surprising gentleness, Kurama pulled me back by the shoulders as Clayton's sword was matched and deflected by the man in black. His sword, more katana, blocked Clayton's wild swipe. Clayton swiped a few more times at the man as Kurama continued to pull me from their small battle zone. My feet stumbled here and there, my mind distracted by the flashing of the swords.

I watched as Clayton faked on the other man and managed to smash his elbow into the side of his face. The man in black stumbled and Clayton took the advantage to slip past him and raise his sword at Kurama again. I felt Kurama brace himself to take the impact of the sword as he placed himself in front of me. My eyes grew wide as I realized he was making himself my shield.

I, however, could not let him do that. It was only when the sword sliced through my shoulder that I realized I had swung myself around in front of the red head, my back to Clayton. The blade sliced down to my clavicle, embedding itself in the bone. I cried out in pain as I pushed against Kurama, trying to urge him back and away from my kidnapper.

I could hear Clayton screaming at me, telling me how stupid I was for getting in the way and calling me horrible names for being a martyr. He gripped the sword and slid it from my flesh, still dragging the blade along my bone. As I was freed from the blade, I fell to my knees. The pain was overwhelming my senses. I brought my opposite hand up to clench the wound, trying to stop the bleeding. Kurama knelt down in front of me, his hands grasping the sides of my arms to keep me upright.

There was a sound of metal on metal behind me and I assumed Kurama's black-clad friend had begun the fight again. Glancing up at Kurama, I found his face tense and eyes full of worry. I shook my head at him and tried to push him away, my blood soaked hand leaving smears on his shirt. "Just get out, don't let him kill you, too."

Kurama's eyes narrowed, anger flitting across his face. "We came to help you."

I slid from my knees to land on my bottom, my legs folded to the side under me. I was losing blood fast and I could feel the effects of it draping over my senses. I was breathing heavy again. Anger at Clayton was flooding through me. "Then just make sure he dies, too."

Kurama kept his hands on my arms for a moment longer, openly staring at me. I'm sure he could see the resolve in my expression, my willingness to die here as long as Clayton died with me. He gave a quick squeeze to my arms, then he was gone. I turned my head far enough to see that the three men who had come to my aid were attempting to disarm Clayton.

I lost my balance and I slipped down from my sitting position, catching myself on my arms. The pain in my shoulder flared and I cried out as I fell. I could no longer hold myself up. I was face down on the concrete and I could feel my blood still pouring out from my wound. The incisions at my sides had opened again. I was soaked in my own life force.

My vision began to fade as I watched Clayton defending himself against the three men, his sword swinging wildly. Kurama had some kind of whip in his hands and the brown haired male's hands were glowing a bright blue as he punched at Clayton.

My vision went black twice as I watched the display. Seconds or minutes passed each time, I was unsure how much. Clayton had managed to knock the smaller man in black onto his back with a large gash to his chest. He clutched at it as it lazily oozed blood.

The second time I came to from the darkness the brown haired man was next to his friend on his knees and one hand. He was panting from the exertion from the fight. The two were talking quietly to one another.

I blinked hard, trying to clear my vision, and pushed myself up on to a forearm. I should have been down for the count, but it seemed my body had finally reached the point of rebellion. It refused to stay down.

Clayton must have noticed me attempting to get back up as he pushed Kurama back with a kick and grinned at me. "I knew you'd last. Don't worry, little one, we'll be back to our fun soon!"

The green whip Kurama wielded flashed towards Clayton, but he ducked and lunged at the man. I watched in complete shock as Clayton's sword pierced through Kurama's stomach, accompanied by a sickening tearing sound that made my own stomach drop. My heart suddenly began racing, pumping the last of my blood through my veins.

I must have cried out, because Clayton looked back at me. Although his entire eye was nothing but white, I was all too aware of his gaze on me. He reached forward to grab Kurama's shoulder and pressed the sword in farther. A strangled cry escaped the red head's mouth and his hair fell to cover his eyes, shielding my view of his pain.

"Do you want to watch me kill your would-be rescuers?" Clayton's voice rang out through his pointed teeth, a twisted smile appearing on his face. "Or maybe I'll keep one alive to play with us. Would you like that?"

Clayton must have twisted the sword as Kurama cried out again, a mouthful of blood escaping his lips.

"Kurama!" The brown haired man called out to him as the man tried to pick himself up. Clayton shouted back at him in Japanese, threatening him from what I could get from his tone. Clayton was enjoying this far too much, his malicious smile too wide for his face.

Again, I wondered why I had been chosen for this fate. Had I done something wrong in the life I couldn't remember? Had I been so terrible in my life that even the people who had come to rescue me would die by the hands of my kidnapper? They had just been in the wrong place at the wrong time, they weren't meant to take my fate.

My thoughts turned dark. I knew this wasn't my fault. This had nothing to do with my sins, this was all on Clayton.

"You fucking piece of shit."

My words came out through clenched teeth as I pushed myself up onto my hands and knees. My anger welled up inside of me like a coiled snake – there was a change. It felt as though a band aid had been ripped off an open wound – something had snapped in me. It gave me strength as my body seemed to have forgotten I had lost the majority of my blood. It felt like there was a fire building in my stomach – something had moved inside of me to build this rage. I pushed my muscles to move even when I felt them resisting and begging to stop.

I made it to my feet, though the manner of how escaped me. My entire body was strained at the exertion. My fury continued to hold as I stared Clayton down. I was panting and I could feel my blood caking around my face and neck. I wanted to scream at him, but my voice escaped only as a tense whisper. "What kind of fucking psycho does this to people?"

" _The mediocre kind._ " I heard a dark chuckle escape the red head as he replied. There was a quiet scoff that escaped the two of his companions from across the room. I stared at him, not only shocked at the fact that Kurama was _laughing_ with a sword shoved through his stomach but also that I had understood his comment.

There was no problem with my hearing, and so I stared at him in disbelief. It wasn't that I had heard Kurama that shocked me, it was that I had understood him. He was clearly not speaking English in his reply, but what I assumed must be Japanese was making perfect sense in the language center of my brain.

My head jerked towards his friends as they replied to their impaled companion. " _Kurama, don't talk. You'll ruin the fun for him._ "

My gaze flickered back to Kurama as he let out another strained chuckle and grinned from beneath the curtain of red hair. I began to panic and my brain started reviewing the facts of the situation.

This man, my would-be rescuer as Clayton called him, was impaled on Clayton's longsword, and yet he was smiling and joking.

I had lost far too much blood to be conscious, let alone to even be standing.

And, although I had never learned more than a handful of words from other languages, I was suddenly able to perfectly understand Japanese even though just minutes before I had not.

"What the fuck is going on?" I verbalized my distress as I brought my hands to my head, clutching at it.

" _Did she finally lose it?_ " I heard the brown haired man inquire to his friends. I dropped my hands and my head snapped up to glare at the man. I was having a panic attack and he had the nerve to ask if I was losing my mind?

"No, I didn't fucking lose it, you asshole." I sneered back at him in English, my hands clenching into fists. Where did the strength to even clench my hands come from? Hadn't I been bleeding out on the floor mere moments ago?

The man's brow furrowed in confusion and it seemed the rest of the occupants of the room had frozen in place at my outburst. My eyes bounced from the man in black, who regarded me with narrowed eyes, to Kurama and Clayton. They both had turned their gazes fully to me.

I took in a ragged breath as realization accompanied by confusion dawned across their faces. My body was now reacting to their response, which resulted in my brain being thrown into overdrive. I began to hyperventilate. I wanted to cry – I wanted there to be enough tears left in my body to allow me to cry.

I clutched at my chest as I turned breathless and stumbled back, tripping on my own feet.

Two hot hands steadied me. I flinched and looked over my shoulder to find spiked black hair; the white and blue tips of his bangs in my direct line of sight. His hands felt feverish, similar to how I had felt the last time I'd caught a bad flu virus and had been rushed to the hospital for such a high fever.

Of course, I had to worry whether or not he was sick and contagious instead of appreciating that he hadn't let me fall again. I only had an instant to worry, though, as Clayton reacted.

" _Get your filthy hands off of her!_ " Clayton pulled his sword from Kurama's stomach with a groan from the latter and launched himself at the shorter man giving me balance. My crutch had left his katana back near the brown haired man and I panicked at how he would end up with a hole in his body as Kurama had.

I felt adrenaline flood my body as my fury flared again. I pushed back against the black haired man and outstretched an arm towards Clayton, my palm facing him. My blood rushed in my ears and my vision grew hazy.

"NO!" I didn't know I'd had enough left in me to scream at all. My high pitched voice reverberated off the steel beams of the warehouse.

There was another change – the sensation of a condensed explosion formed within my chest. I felt as though I had taken the heat of the sun into my body. My throat continued to scream as my vision became awash with golden light. I felt what was left of my blood vibrating in my veins, although it wasn't pain that filled my senses.

I felt a burning hot rage for the man who was attempting to kill my would-be rescuers. I was filled with a scorching desire to kill Clayton. My body screamed at me to rip him limb from limb. I wanted to rip his throat with my teeth, fill my mouth with his blood as I watched the life drain from his yes.

The golden light faded enough from my vision for me to see that Clayton had skidded to a stop in front of me, his eyes wide. My throaty scream had turned into a low snarl, my teeth bared at him. There was a flash of confusion and the tiniest bit of fear in his expression.

"What is this?!" He screamed at me, his own fanged teeth bared. I felt my shoulders hunch as I pulled my body into a crouch, ready to leap at him. "You lied to me!"

My head cocked to the side, my vision still gold at the edges. My rage ate at me to rush at him, to pull his flesh apart. "Never." There was a second tone beneath my voice, creating an odd harmony in my words. It fed my rage even more as I could not control the words that spilled from my mouth. "You wanted to see my energy? Here it is!"

I lunged at him, moving faster than I could ever imagine. I watched as he tried to defend himself against me, landing punches on my jaw, shoulders, and stomach. I felt none of his hits – my rage had numbed me to my pain. I saw my hands reaching out and tearing at his flesh. My nails had grown and turned claw-like, far better for slicing through his skin as he had mine.

There was a ferocity in my attacks that had not been in the other three's when they attacked Clayton. I knew they were watching me – I had an audience for my revenge. My lips turned up in a smirk at the thought.

Clayton's face and torso were covered in deep claw marks, his blood staining the white shirt he had come back in. I had removed the longsword from his hand, tossing it to the side near my audience. The flurry of slashes and strikes I had been making to Clayton's body had slowed and I currently had him on his knees, one of my hands grasping his face at the cheeks.

He was sputtering, attempting to beg for me to stop. He made promises of how he would leave me alone, he would take me back to Colorado and let me live out the remainder of my life with a large amount of money he would give me to fall back on. I would never want for anything again, he told me. His cowardice was making me sick. Only a few moments before he had been taunting me, threatening to kill and torture the men who I had just barely met. Now he squirmed beneath my grasp, begging for his life.

Such a delightful change in things.

I heard the other three move into my peripheral, although the gold at the edges of my sight had yet to abate. They were talking, but I blocked out their words. I could feel them. I knew what Clayton had meant by 'energy' now – all of them gave off their own unique signature, as I'm sure I must have as well.

Clayton's energy did not feel unique to me. There was an underlying energy of his own that gave off a faint silver glow, but the myriad of colors layers over it did not belong to him. It confused me momentarily before I removed the thought and focused on my task at hand.

"Ria, sweet Ria, p-please, I only meant to draw out your healing power, never to kill you." He was sputtering again. I could see the golden energy wrapping around him as it flared out from me. I could feel it smothering his multitude of energies, aiding to hold him down. "I will do whatever you want for you to release me."

I could feel a smirk forming on my lips again. It pleased me to no end that he was helpless in my grasp. I had never felt more powerful or important in my short life. I brought my face down closer to him, so he could see me up close and personal.

"Whatever I want…" There was still the two voices as I spoke, the eerie harmony causing Clayton to flinch. "What I want, Clayton, is for you to die."

I felt his sharp intake of breath as I moved, the hand that had grasped his chin moving so my fingers found purchase inside his mouth on his sharp fang-like teeth of his bottom jaw. My other hand did the same on the top half of his jaw. I could feel his fangs cutting into my fingers, but I ignored it as I found the grip and pulled.

I wrenched his jaw open as wide as I could, while he fought me the whole time. His own hands were grasping at me, attempting to stop me. I could feel the rage still burning in me, hotter than I had ever thought possible. It was far beyond my rage for Clayton. There was more, a deep seated anger at the world, at life, and at my place in it. I pulled again and I faintly heard Clayton scream. One more final tug and I would end his life by tearing him apart.

" _ **RIA!"**_

Reality came crashing down around me. I lost my strength and lost the grip on Clayton's jaws. My fingers slipped from his teeth and Clayton fell to the floor, howling in pain; I had at least cracked the bones of his jaw. I stood, my vision completely clear again as I looked up at Kurama, who had shouted my name.

I was so confused and my face showed it. There were tears in my eyes again. Kurama's expression was one of worry turned to sympathy as he watched me. My eyes glanced at his two companions, both of which looked more defensive than anything.

"Oh, god…" I looked back down at my hands, seeing my blood dripping from the holes Clayton's fangs had made. The claws were still there, staining red with my own fluids. I was shaking. My anger-fueled strength gave out entirely as I fell to my knees. Kurama and the brown haired man rushed to my side as the man in black went to Clayton. A quick kick to the head had Clayton finally quiet.

I looked back up at Kurama, my eyes wide. "How… how did I…?" I couldn't understand, I had never been an angry person. I was the one to shut down, not to react. I had nearly killed Clayton. Yes, I'd been in a fight or two in high school, but never to the point that I had even drawn blood. This was something else entirely.

Kurama's face was all sympathy. "Ria, _your energy…"_ He frowned slightly, trying to find the words. " _Do you know who I am_?"

My face scrunched at him. I had just gone berserker on Clayton and he wanted to know if I knew him? " _You're_ Kurama _, but we just met. How_ -" I didn't even pay attention to the fact that I had begun to speak Japanese in response.

" _No_ , Ria." Kurama sighed and closed his eyes. His brow furrowed slightly before his eyes opened again. This time, instead of his green eyes I saw a brilliant amber looking back at me. I felt my heart skip a beat as the familiarity of the cold gaze sank in to my bones. Kurama blinked and his green eyes were back.

My mouth had dropped at the surprise of this demon in front of me. What disturbed me, though, was the fact that I knew who he was, what he was, and my mind accepted the fact that this was all very normal.

It was as if there was an entire new section of my brain that had reopened – a rush of knowledge made itself known to me. Demons, energy, auras, separate worlds, different species… it all came to me. Or came back to me?

I finally remembered to breathe, taking in a sharp breath. My eyes were still locked on the red head gripping my arm, anchoring me to the present. I sighed wearily, my voice barely a whisper, "Yōko."

Kurama's mouth twitched in a sad smile. "Let's get you out of here."

* * *

 **Author's Note:** Not gonna lie, the beginning of this chapter was NOT easy to write. I was SUPER uncomfortable by Clayton's actions, and I wrote them! But sometimes characters develop themselves…

I honestly did not mean for this chapter to be so long. But it just kept coming and I couldn't find a good place to stop. I didn't really want to stop where I did, but I have plans for the next chapter.

Thank you so much to those who have been reviewing and adding this story to their favorites! I really appreciate that people are excited, I'm excited to get this really going. Next chapter will be up on or before November 15th. My husband and I will be traveling that week and the following for the holidays, so I'm going to try to get it done before our trip.

Also, don't forget to take the poll on my profile if you haven't yet! Thank you!


	4. Four

My vision was hazy as I watched Clayton's torturous plans come crashing down around him. He was unconscious from the pain of nearly having his head ripped in two. The man in black was standing over him. I don't when he lost his shirt, but the gash on his chest had clotted and he glared down at Clayton with a sneer.

The brown haired man was talking into some kind of compact mirror, but when I shifted my head I noticed the mirror was a screen. A woman with cotton candy blue hair was speaking to him, but I didn't catch their conversation.

Kurama had pulled me into a standing position, his arm around my shoulders to keep me up. He was speaking softly in my ear, but I wasn't processing the words.

I had just attempted to kill Clayton – I had tried to rip his head open at the mouth. I looked down at my hands again, noting that I still, in fact, had claws instead of the blunt fingernails I had chewed down on a normal basis. They were several layers thicker than regular nails, extending out past the tips of my fingers by at least a centimeter. The tip was curved downward just slightly and they were a light golden color. The tips were currently a dark red from the blood and flesh I had torn from Clayton, though.

There were no holes in the pads of my phalanges from his fangs anymore – it seemed I had finally drawn out that healing power that Clayton had so desperately wanted.

I was numb. Something was wrong with me; something felt incomplete. There was a nagging feeling at the back of my head, similar to the sensation of when a sneeze builds up in your nose and then just vanishes. I couldn't focus on anything else. Reality continued around me as if it were just a movie I had put on for background noise. I was aware there were several uniformed bodies that entered the building, going to Clayton and hauling him up. He was still limp as they placed glowing handcuffs on him and dragged him away.

Kurama's hands were on my shoulders as he ushered me out of the warehouse. I had to close my eyes at the blinding daylight. We had stepped through the doorway into some sort of atrium, the ceiling appeared as though it had been glass at one point although now several pieces were missing. The beams that had held the pattern remained. The vegetation had overtaken the atrium, wild grass growing through the cracks of the concrete.

I allowed Kurama to lead me a few more steps before I let my legs give way underneath me. I dropped so quickly, the red head didn't have time to adjust his grip properly to catch me. He made to kneel on one knee next to me as I caught myself on my hands.

I could hear the faint mumble of Kurama's voice in my ear again, but I made to push him away from me.

"Just… stop."

That was my voice. I was so tired, I just wanted him to leave me alone for a second. I know I should have been more inclined to have a proper reunion with the man, but I was too focused on my psyche seeming to break.

"Well she certainly looks worse for wear than you described, Yusuke."

There was a woman's voice coming from somewhere in the near vicinity. I would have said a girl's voice due to the ridiculously bubbly tone to it, but the choice of words spoke of maturity. I dragged my eyes up to peer around the brown haired boy, who I assumed was who she had called Yusuke. The two were looking at me, concern written in their frowns; the blue-haired woman from the compact screen was standing next to him. She was just slightly taller than him, but her dark pink eyes were full of worry where his brown were slanted in anger.

"I didn't see her in the light, she didn't look so bad in there."

I stared at the two for a long moment, curious as to how terrible I must have looked to the two of them. This man, Yusuke, had seen the marks from what I had been subjected to. If I still looked worse than the thought of all of my incisions, then I must have looked just appalling.

"I bet she feels worse than she looks." Oops, that was my voice again. I really needed to get proper control of what words were going to come out of my mouth next before I got myself in trouble.

At my remark, though, the blue haired woman had taken the two steps towards me and dropped into a crouch. Her hands were placed lightly on her kimono covered knees. "Oh, I am terribly sorry. We were talking about you as if you weren't even here, how rude of us!" Her head tilted as she locked eye contact with me. "My name is Botan and I'm very sorry to have to meet you under these conditions."

I was still trying to wrap my brain around her unnaturally colored eyes and hair in addition to her bright pink attire. Her ponytail bobbed as her head tilted again and I caught her expression of patience – she was waiting for a response.

"Oh, um… Ria." That felt wrong – the simplicity of the name. It was too short, wasn't it? There must be more letters there…

Kurama must have seen the deep frown that etched into my face and I watched him shoo Botan with a quick flick of his hand. She nodded once before standing and turning to talk to Yusuke again in hushed tones. Seeming to remember herself, she paused and pulled a water bottle from the folds of her kimono to toss it to Kurama.

The red head uncapped the bottle for me before holding it in front of my face. It took a few seconds for my mind to focus on the bottle, and a few more to get my hand to cooperate in grasping the bottle. Touching the opening to my lips, I dragged three long gulps of the precious liquid before taking small sips to coat my mouth. I needed to rinse the taste of blood and bile from my mouth.

Finally able to wet my tongue again, I licked my lips to find them dry and cracked. I sighed lightly, realizing I would either need to give or receive some answers as to what exactly was going on. I turned my head fully to the male who had also crouched on the ground next to me.

"Kurama…" His name rolled off my tongue in an all too familiar way, but I had just met him… hadn't I? The red hair seemed wrong on him, soft green eyes with sympathy overflowing from them – that didn't sit well with me. He should be cold and calculating, not warm and comforting. I would have been more comforted if he weren't so comforting!

I scrunched my nose up at the thought, my face screwed in the confusion of my line of thinking. Kurama's head tilted to the side as he stared at me and I realized the heavily canine influence of the action. _That_ comforted me.

"I know you… don't I?" That was my voice again, but it sounded sad this time. And I realized I _was_ sad. How could I have forgotten this man, the touch of his energy? It was dull and subdued compared to the memory, but it was all too familiar. He was my friend – before…

"Yes, Ria. You know me." Kurama's soft voice brought me back to the present as he stared at me with those misplaced green eyes. It wasn't that I didn't find him attractive – I did, granted he was a bit feminine in comparison to what I typically preferred, but I couldn't deny he was a striking man. But his looks felt wrong for the energy that was roiling inside of him and I couldn't seem to move past it. "You called me _Yōko_ just a moment ago."

That sounded like something I would call him and, indeed, I could feel the presence of the kitsune I knew – agitated from my presence. I nodded in response to his statement and took another sip of water. I had fallen back on my behind and I pulled my knees up so I could hug them to my chest. I couldn't take my eyes off the clawed fingers that grasped the water bottle – those couldn't be my hands, right?

I heard light footsteps coming from the direction of the warehouse we had just exited. "Koenma's Special Defense Force has taken the filth into custody."

The deep, gravelly voice belonged to the man in black I had seen earlier. I glanced over my shoulder at him – he was still shirtless. His katana had been sheathed again at his side and he glanced around at the few of us left.

I could feel his eyes finally rest on me, so I dropped my own gaze back to the water bottle in my hand. I had to admit, I was curious about him, but my own mental health was taking precedence. He was hard to ignore, though, as his aura was a constant buzz at the edge of my awareness – like a bright light that you just can't block out no matter how hard you squeeze your eyes shut.

He stepped slowly towards Kurama and I, and I watched the kitsune regard him with a wary expression. When he had come to my side, he stopped and stared intently down at me. I could feel the heat of his gaze and I shifted uncomfortably at it. I frowned and turned to Kurama to ask him to leave. I opened my mouth to speak, but the man in black's harsh voice beat me.

"You look disgusting."

His tone wasn't malicious or sympathetic; it was entirely monotone. He wasn't trying to insult me, he was just stating a fact. And that, in its simplicity, irritated me. I glared at him from the corner of my eye. I couldn't help the sneer that escaped me, "Yeah, no shit, Sherlock. You don't exactly scream 'sunshine and rainbows' either."

Kurama made a strange noise next to me, and my eyes flashed back to him. He was biting his thumb and attempting to hide a small smile. Yusuke also made a strangled noise, which I looked over to find him grinning and Botan was hiding her own smile. I glanced over my shoulder to find dark red eyes glaring at me, the corner of his lip pulled back as if to snarl.

"If she can come out of that crap in there and still be able to insult Hiei, she's a tough cookie!" Yusuke was cackling now, making no effort to restrain himself.

I could feel the man called Hiei's energy bristling not so much at my comment, but as Yusuke's enjoyment of it. I was slightly relieved not to have his heated glare pointed at me anymore, though. His mouth opened to grumble at the other man, but was interrupted by a loud beeping sound coming from the folds of Botan's kimono.

She quickly pulled a small contraption out of her sleeve, which appeared to be a similar one as what Yusuke had contacted Botan through earlier. Flicking open the screen, she greeted her caller. "Koenma, sir!"

There was a muffled voice at the other end, sounding as if his mouth was full. "Botan, has the situation been remedied?" Botan had called him 'sir' – would someone in an authority stance really video call with their mouth full? I scoffed at the thought.

Botan nodded briefly. "Yes, sir, we seem to have stumbled upon a Maneshi Demon that's been living in Human World for quite some time. Unfortunately, sir, he had a young woman held as a captive here. He was…" Botan paused and her eyes flickered over to me. I turned away and glared at the ground. _Happy thoughts, happy thoughts – er, non-torturous thoughts, non-torturous thoughts..._ "He was cruel to her."

There was silence on the other end for a brief moment before the voice drifted back, softer this time. "And who is this young woman?"

"She was the source of the strange energy you detected earlier, sir."

Koenma's voice was far more insistent this time, almost snappish. "Who is she? What is her name?"

"Um…" Botan glanced up at me, I could feel all their eyes on me. My brows were furrowed together and I knew I was deepening the "elevens" wrinkles I had on my forehead from frowning so much. I knew my name… right?

" _Rrri-haa-mma_." The whispered name that spilled from my mouth felt far more familiar than 'Ria' ever had. I rolled the 'r' with my tongue, and dragged out the last two syllables. "My name… was Rihama."

There was a pounding in my ears again as my heart began to race beneath my breast. My breath caught in my throat as I mulled my name over and over in my mind. I knew my name again...

I didn't have as much time as I would have liked to ponder over my name and why I felt so uncomfortable in my skin all of a sudden, but the booming voice from Botan's communicator pulled me from my thoughts. I felt the malevolence in Koenma's tone down to my very core.

" **BRING HER HERE – NOW!** "

* * *

Ahhh, I feel so bad this is shorter than the last one. But I wanted to get it out before I left for vacation next week! I have been absolutely swamped with my work load and life in general, so hopefully this can hold you over until next time!

Please don't be afraid to review and tell me what I can improve on, what you like, and what you'd like to see! Thanks for taking an interest in my little story! Until next time!

-H.


	5. Five

It took Botan all of ten minutes to convince the person speaking through the little communicator that it would be impossible to bring me 'there' since I wasn't dead. I was highly confused and no one around me offered an explanation, even though I searched for answers in each of their faces.

Instead, I chose to sulk on my spot on the ground. I was brooding in the fact that this day had continually gotten weirder by the minute. I ignored the rest of the argument carried out over the odd device in Botan's hands, although I did end up hearing the "Fine! I'll come there!" scream from the other end before there was a loud click of Botan snapping the communicator shut.

"How rude! I was only telling him the truth! I can't take any of you to the Reikai unless you're dead!" Botan scoffed before turning her nose up at the thought of her conversation. "And frankly, Yusuke, taking you to the Spirit World once was plenty for me!"

This was turning in to a weird fucking day.

I tried to tune out the rest of Botan and Yusuke's conversation. I hugged my knees to my chest and buried my face in them. I just wanted to ignore everyone and attempt to figure out what the hell was going on. I always did so much better alone…

My name was Rihama – _was._ I wasn't sure if I could even be called by that name, since it came with a lifetime I just could not wrap my brain around. I knew there was no way in hell was I human, namely from the claws that now graced my fingers and the way I had nearly ripped Clayton's head off. The golden, glowing energy that had escaped me was a hint, too.

Kurama recognized me, and I knew him to some extent. I knew he was a kitsune and, at some point, had lost the old form I vaguely remembered him in. Everything about his appearance sat wrong with the blurry memory I held – silver hair, yellow-gold eyes, haughty smile, and a devious expression. Even his smell was wrong; it was like he had made a kitsune-filled burrito with a human tortilla wrapping.

Don't judge my similes, I'd been traumatized.

I had been successful in completely blocking out the world around me until Kurama's cool fingers brushed against my arm and he murmured my name. "Rihama?"

I tensed at his touch, but I tilted my head to peek at him from behind my knees. He was still knelt next to me, but his green eyes stared down at me with worry.

"Are you alright?" He cocked his head to the side as he took his hand from my arm, noticing my reaction. "You were growling."

I shook myself mentally then lifted my head up to look at him fully, squinting at him in hopes his form would change in my sight. "Yeah, you just… you smell wrong."

A soft smile broke over his lips as he let a small chuckle escape; it was amused and dark at the same time. But, _oh_ , was it a familiar chuckle. Yoko was still in there somewhere; I took comfort in that. "As long as I don't smell bad, eh?"

I could feel the corner of my mouth turn up in a smirk as his response. The muscles in my face strained at the positive expression, but it felt better than the scowl that had been set on my face since we had stepped into the broken-down atrium. Speaking of…

"I'm in Japan, aren't I?" My mouth was set back into the grim line. "I was in the States before he… before I was brought here."

Kurama nodded briefly. "You are – which is pure luck on your part, honestly. If you had been taken anywhere else the situation could have been much different."

"Fate has a funny way of showing itself!" Botan's chipper voice broke into our conversation, and I realized again there were others around.

"Hey, how come you can speak with us now, anyways? You were speaking English earlier, right?" Yusuke's hands were behind his head and he looked far more relaxed than any of us.

Botan pressed a finger to her lips. "Oh, that is quite peculiar."

Kurama nodded to them. "Yes, while I am happy not to have to fill the role of translator any longer, I will agree it's very unusual."

I sighed, shaking my head. I tried to concentrate back on the moment I had first understood the words coming from Yusuke's mouth back in the warehouse. It occurred to me that the language I had been speaking for the past few minutes was, in fact, _not_ English as my brain had assumed. It had been far too easy for me to make the transition.

My nose scrunched as I contemplated my answer. "I think… I think I know several languages. I feel like my memories- my life, is behind a dam and a siphon has been opened. There's knowledge there…" I moved my hands to grasp at my temples. "I feel like something cracked… inside me."

None of us had long to ponder my last statement, as there was a shift around me. I felt suddenly dizzy as the air behind me crackled. I flinched away from the disturbance, my face contorting in response. As quickly as it had appeared, the commotion dissipated. In its place, I could feel the presence of someone very powerful behind me.

"Koenma, sir, you're here!" Botan's chipper voice accompanied by a soft clap caused my eyes to widen as I first found her, then Yusuke. The brown-haired boy's face had a small half grin.

"Yo! Binky Breath! Long time, no see."

"I told you not to call me that!" There was the screeching I had heard over the small communicator. I turned slowly around to see just who I was dealing with.

Blue skin. Blonde, balding hair. A horn sticking from his forehead? And nothing on but some kind of loincloth. At least it covered the majority of his hips… An ogre, my subconscious supplied. The creature who was grinning softly and waving at Yusuke was an ogre. "Hellooo!"

His voice was far too deep and gruff to be the person who had just been screeching. My eyes drifted around the ogre, trying to find this Koenma, when they locked on a small child standing with his hands clasped behind his back with a very smug expression on his face.

"At last, Rihama. We've been looking for you."

The toddler… was talking. A tiny little child dressed in a blue robe with pink trimming and a red obi sash. There was a large hat on his head with the suffix "Jr." stamped on the front. A bright blue pacifier was stuck in his mouth, which he talked around. For a moment, I found him utterly rude – didn't he know it was bad manners to talk with something in his mouth?

And then I froze, my eyes narrowed and lips pursed. There was a toddler basically chastising me after I had just been rescued from torture.

Weird. Fucking. Day.

I slowly turning my gaze to Yusuke, then Botan. "Um, Botan, was it? I think you could have taken me wherever he wanted you to, because I absolutely _have_ to be dead." I turned back to Kurama, to see him stifle a chuckle behind his fist. "Seriously. There's a toddler… _talking_ over there. Can you see that? I mean, I _have_ to be dead."

There was a quiet scoff and a quick snigger from the two darker haired men that stood off to the side. I glanced at them, but was brought back by a frustrated growl coming from the child behind me.

"You are not dead! I am Koenma, Prince of the Spirit World! And you–" A chubby finger was pointed at me. "You should be under arrest!"

That seemed to quiet the amusement coming from the young men that had just previously rescued me. I wasn't entirely sure I wasn't dreaming or dead, but the threat of being arrested had me shaken. I'd never been arrested before; I hadn't gotten as much as a speeding ticket in my life. Why would I be arrested?

Yusuke voiced my question, though much more vehemently than I would have. A growl had laced into his voice and his fists were balled. I felt a quick surge of gratefulness – he was coming to my defense.

Koenma leaned forward and stared directly at me, the tips of his chubby toddler fingers pressed together. "Rihama is wanted for the murder of a member of the Makai's nearly extinct species."

There was an awkward silence that settled over the group. My hands had become clammy – fight or flight response was in effect and my body wanted to flee as quickly as possible. There was a part of my mind, though, that wanted to scream at this child-ruler. To say that I had murdered someone was ridiculous! Granted, I had just tried to murder Clayton, but still!

"Do enlighten the rest of us, Koenma. We found her, we should at least get details." Hiei's low voice drifted from the side. His voice was laced with just enough sarcasm that I doubted he would ever sound sincere if he tried. I had to agree with him, though. Details would be nice.

Koenma strode forward on tiny legs, coming to stand next to me with his eyes narrowed in a cold glare. Having a toddler stare at you in such a way is, frankly, unnerving. "She killed the Great Red Dragon, Kotomaru, and supplied his body to be torn apart and distributed among the Black Market of the Makai."

I could see Hiei start forward in shock and Kurama's hands flinched away from me. Yusuke's arms dropped quickly, but his expression was one of confusion. "Great Red Dragon? Is that like Hiei's dragon?"

I knew I should have been intrigued at the mention of Hiei's possession of a dragon, but I was too busy rushing through the memories I had of the name 'Kotomaru.'

I remembered that he was, indeed, red as pomegranate seeds. I had teased him, calling him the color of tomatoes or strawberries. I remembered his square jaw, lopsided smirk, and his looming presence over me – he had been so much taller than me. His eyes were dark, nearly black – a trait he had inherited from his father, he'd told me. It was so long ago…

"Hiei's dragon is a topic for another time. The Great Dragons are a species found in the lower pits of the Makai. Do you remember our discussion of the different levels? These Great Dragons come from some of the lowest depths – their power is immense. It's not very often they die in one of the upper levels, but some crawl higher to hibernate as not to be disturbed." His gaze never left me. "That is what happened with Kotomaru."

The little prince raised himself to his full height, which wasn't much, all things considered. He pointed a finger at me again and I had a flash of anger run through me. Didn't his mother ever tell him it was rude to point?

"You ambushed Kotomaru with hunters – he was murdered, mutilated, and pieces of his bones are still in circulation throughout the Black Market of the Makai! You are at fault for his death!" He was nearly screaming at me from behind the pacified and I flinched back. Still sitting on the ground, he barely came to my head, but his aura was overwhelming.

A deep seated hatred rose in me. My ears burned and I could feel my teeth bared in a snarl – oh, sorry, fangs. I had forgotten they were there, but I knew they added to the ferocity of my gaze.

"How dare you - you _tiny_ child - accuse me of murdering Kotomaru!" There was absolutely no chance that I had done such a thing. The angry words seethed through my teeth as my hands clenched and I felt the new claws dig into the flesh of my palm. I rose to my own full height, ignoring the dizzying sensation from sitting in one position for too long. "Kotomaru was my friend, my ally! H-he was supposed to be my mat-"

The words cut off in my throat. Kotomaru had been so much more than just a friend and ally. We had been raised together, I could still feel his presence next to me, his overwhelming confidence in his strength and in my intelligence. We had been the perfect pair, but…

Why couldn't I remember his voice?

I knew the sensation of a panic attack, I had dealt with them my entire life; well, my life as a human anyways. My throat had closed as I begun to hyperventilate. I uncurled one of my hands to splay it across my chest. My knees buckled and I fell back on my rump ungracefully.

In one swift movement, Koenma had opened another set of memories, revealed my nature, informed me of Kotomaru's death, and accused me of his murder. I had every right to fucking panic!

Kurama was at my side in an instant, his much larger hand resting mid-back to give me some support. The tank top I still wore was shredded, but the back was mostly intact; it was caked with dried blood, though. Kurama had enough manners to keep his hand on the material. The cool sensation of his hand, even through my clothing, was enough to jolt me back into the present moment and cutting off my panic attack. I felt weary, now, and my eyes stung with tears I had been about to shed.

I wanted to defend myself, tell this Koenma that he had no right accusing me of such a heinous act. But my words were still stuck in my throat and I could only sob tearlessly as I tried to regain my composure. Kurama took my place, instead.

"The Rihama I knew would never do such a thing to one of her own, let alone her intended. She wanted nothing more than to honor Kotomaru – I would not believe she murdered him unless I saw it with my own two eyes."

His eyes were cold as he stared Koenma down. I was grateful for his support, but a distant part of my mind told me I should be grieving. I was almost happy that I didn't have enough memories or past feelings to fully grasp Kotomaru's death.

I wrapped my arms around myself. Why was this happening to me? I was just a boring little human not that long ago, and now I was being accused of murdering a Great Dragon – my intended, I realized. I knew I hadn't killed him, but… what had really happened?

I hated Koenma in that moment. I hated that he had brought this on me. I looked up at him with all the malice I could muster. "What – no fair trial? No chance to prove my innocence? Are you not a just ruler, Koenma?" I attempted to stand up again, stumbling the whole way. Kurama's cool hand supported me as I finally rose and looked down at the little toddler. "Up until today, I thought I was a human! I was going to live out my life as a human and die as a human. Then you come marching in here on your tiny fucking feet and decided that I am just another criminal to put away!"

There were growls accenting my words. My fangs and claws dug into the skin of my hand and my lips. Kurama had grabbed my forearm as I stood, and I clung to him as my anger boiled over.

"You know what? Fuck you, Koenma. I have been hit by a car, assaulted, kidnapped, drug halfway around the world, tortured, and broken! All I know is I want you out of my face, a hot damn shower, _and to go fucking home_!" I screamed at him, all my panic, sorrow, and rage coming out in one burst. I was panting now, tears stinging my eyes.

There was a silence that had fallen over the group, my outburst unsettling them all. Koenma stared at me for a moment longer, then at the man holding me up.

Kurama moved slowly, leaving me to stand on my own and approached Koenma. He motioned for him to follow and they stepped to the side to murmur quietly to one another. Kurama's voice was smooth, but firm. Koenma's still held heavy resentment, and I watched as he crossed his arms in frustration.

After a moment, Koenma nodded curtly and stalked back over to where I had sat down, the red-haired male close behind. "Kurama, if I didn't hold your word so highly, I would arrest her on the spot. However…" He sighed heavily. "How long will it take you to reach Genkai's? She'll be able to contain _this one_ while we relaunch the investigation."

Kurama's back straightened as I attempted to process Koenma's words. "If we run, we could have her there within an hour."

"I could be there in half that time," Hiei spouted off quickly. Yusuke came back with a "me too!" shortly after that.

Koenma just flapped his hand. "Fine, fine. Just get her there. I'll call ahead and have her ready. And Kurama," the Spirit Prince fixed the kitsune with a hard stare. "Since you stuck out your neck for her, you will be held responsible if anything happens."

Kurama's face hardened perceptibly before he nodded and turned away. I refused to look at him as the air thickened around us and he disappeared with a soft fizzle of energy. I was shaking still from my outraged speech. I was more relaxed now that Koenma was gone, but I still had so many questions. Namely, though, was why I could remember Kotomaru, but for the life of me I could not find the sound of his voice.

"Who is carrying the girl?" Hiei's gravelly voice drifted over as Kurama wrapped his arm around my shoulder and had me turn towards the others.

"I'm afraid I'm not as fast as the two of you, in my current state." Kurama motioned towards his abdomen and I remembered suddenly he had been basically run through with Clayton's longsword. I couldn't believe I had already forgotten that, but Kurama acted no differently. "If I really hurry, I might make it there within 45 minutes."

"One of us could take her and you catch up when you can, Kurama." Yusuke suggested. I felt Kurama nod and I looked up at him.

"Rihama?" I scrunched my face at the name. I certainly didn't feel like Rihama; I didn't feel like I could lay claim to it.

"Don't… Just call me Ria." I sighed wearily. I was growing more tired by the second. "I just want to go home."

"I'm afraid you can't go home just yet, but we will take you somewhere to get cleaned up and rest." Kurama tugged me as he began to walk closer to Yusuke and Hiei. I noticed finally that I fit just under his arm. This Kurama was shorter, too. Damn it. "I'm won't be as fast as Yusuke or Hiei, so one of them will have to take you there."

I nodded slightly, holding him to the fact that he would catch up. He may have been all wrong in looks and smell, but his soul was still the same. I needed something from my old life to keep me grounded. "That's fine, just get me somewhere with a shower."

Yusuke stepped up next to us. "I'll carry you. I doubt dark and brooding over here will." There was a short growl from Hiei. Yusuke grinned and made to pick me up under my knees, but I pulled away.

"I don't care who carries me, but I'd prefer to be on your back to see where I'm going, thanks."

Yusuke shrugged and turned around to give me better access. He crouched so I could climb on his back, which I did with a small wince; my sides were still tender. Yusuke's arms locked underneath my legs and I wrapped my arms tightly around his neck. I hoped I wasn't choking him. He was an few inches taller than me, so thankfully I seemed to fit fairly well against his back. He seemed to stand up just fine, anyway.

"Alright, Kurama, we'll catch you at the old lady's." I could feel Yusuke's muscles tense as he leaned forward and shot off like a gun. The world sped past me in a blur as we were running through the woods that had surrounded the warehouse. I tried not to grip onto him too tightly, but it was hard not to as he suddenly shot up above the canopy of trees with a wild jump. A dark flash in the corner of my eye let me know that Hiei was hot on our tail.

As we landed, Yusuke laughed at me. "Don't be afraid, I won't drop you."

A bark of laughter escaped my lips. "I'm not afraid," I all but shouted in his ear. "This is great!"

The exhilaration of going faster than humans thought possible for the body was digging itself deeper into my core. I loved the wind in my hair, the pounding of feet on the earth, and the absolute power pouring out of the two men escorting me to… wherever?

"Yusuke." I had to talk directly into his ear for him to hear me over the sound of the world rushing past us. "Where are you taking me?"

"Genkai's. She's a friend." Yusuke shouted back at me. "An old, bitchy friend, but she'll let you stay."

There was another quick leap and we soared above the trees again. The sun was high and I briefly wondered how many humans would see us and wonder.

"She'll let you stay as long as you don't kill anyone else." Hiei's taunting voice drifted over from the side. I turned to glare at him and made to yell my defense back, but we fell back down to the earth and I lost sight of him as we were off and running again.

"Don't listen to him. If Kurama says you're cool, then I believe him." Yusuke angled his body forward again. "Hang on, we're kicking it into overdrive!"

Yusuke let off a wild shout as he, indeed, sped up even more. I'm sure we looked like nothing more than a blur to anyone else.

His last statement made me wonder though. Yoko had never been fond of authority figures, Spirit World in particular. He always found their ideas too constricting for his nature. It wouldn't have surprised me at all if Kurama's current status and form was a result from dealing with the Reikai. He always talked about it as his undoing, before…

Yusuke noticed my silence and, blessed boy, let me have a while to gather my thoughts. I leaned my head against the back of his shoulders and just let the world pass us by. I wondered what Koenma meant when he said he would relaunch the investigation. How had Kotomaru really died? I know I would never have done anything to hurt him. We were the perfect pair…

I had to focus on that. The perfect pair… of Great Dragons.

I – I was a Great Dragon. How could I have forgotten? How did I end up here, in the Ningenkai? As a human, no less? I hadn't been anything special – just another adopted kid. I was smart enough, nothing spectacular. I'd done my homework, passed my tests, gotten a good job. I never stood out, or even attempted to.

Now… now I knew that I wasn't a human – I wasn't just Ria. But I wasn't the Dragon Rihama, either. I was stuck in between.

I was jolted from my inner turmoil as Yusuke slowed to a stop before a long set of stairs that led upwards to what appeared to be some kind of temple. Yusuke shifted my legs with his arms. "Think you can make those?"

I shook my head fiercely. "No way in hell."

Hiei came up beside us. "Is it that you can't or that you won't?"

I squeezed Yusuke a little tighter with my thighs and arms. "Oh, definitely won't. That's a lot of fucking stairs."

Yusuke laughed and leaned forward again before shooting up the stairs. Hiei followed after shortly. We reached the top of the steps in record time and Yusuke set me down gently.

"See, we could have wasted another 20 minutes waiting for me to get up these steps. Kurama would have caught up her faster than I would have walked up those." Yusuke chuckled at my words and turned around to face me. His grin faltered as his eyes landed on my stomach. I blanched at his expression. "What? What's wrong?"

Hiei came up next to me in a flash and his hand reached out to touch my side. I cried out from the sudden flare of pain from his hand, and he pulled it back to reveal it was covered in blood.

"You are still injured?" Hiei's voice was nearly one of disbelief. I didn't know how to react. I had assumed since my fingers had healed, my sides would heal as well.

"I guess so… holding on to Yusuke must have reopened those cuts." I reached down to touch my sides and pulled back hands stained red. My adrenaline from our run was fading fast and I could feel the pain creeping up my sides. "Guys, this might be bad."

"You think?" Hiei growled low in his throat. "Yusuke, get the old woman and Yukina."

Yusuke nodded quickly and ran off towards the building behind him. I was getting more and more light headed by the second. How much blood had I actually lost? I didn't exactly have a lot to spare, anyway, since Clayton's last round of torture and the cut on my shoulder. I lifted my other hand to find that would seeping blood, too. I was so screwed. "Hiei… I think I need to lie down."

I was glad I at least got the full sentence out, because in the next moment I was so dizzy I could barely keep my eyes open and my knees had given way. Hiei caught me as I fell and laid me down on the stone flooring beneath us.

"Such an idiot, not even noticing you were bleeding. Stupid!" Hiei spoke through clenched teeth. I wondered briefly if he was talking about me, or maybe Yusuke? I doubted he was talking about himself. I felt woozy, and blinked hard trying to clear my vision. I thought perhaps if I could get my brain to focus on one object, I could keep from giving in to the blood loss.

The only thing around me that I could really focus on was the male who had pressed one hand on my shoulder to staunch the bleeding and attempted to press against one of my sides, as well. His hand wasn't large enough to cover them all though. I watched him as he grit his teeth, sharp incisors accenting the scowl on his face. I ran a tongue over my own teeth, noting there was a slight difference.

"Hiei, why are your fangs so much smaller than mine?" My voice was mumbled as I let my eyes droop closed. A sharp smack to the side of my face had them opening wide again. "You slapped me!"

"Stay awake, idiot." Hiei growled at me again. He had backhanded me with the appendage trying to stop the bleeding of my shoulder. I tried to shake myself out of the stupor, but the pain was beginning to overwhelm me. I vaguely heard Hiei talking to me. "Your fangs are longer because you are animalistic. I am not."

"Oh, I – ah – guess that makes – ah – sense." Every time I shifted or breathed too deeply, there was a sharp twinge in my side. "But – but I don't even – ah – know what you are." My breathing was shallow and blackness was creeping at the edge of my vision. My eyes just would not stay open. Maybe, maybe I could just take a quick nap. That would set me right, just a quick cat nap…

Hiei's voice was muffled as my eyes drifted closed. Even when I felt him shake me and smack me across the face again, my eyes would no longer open. I tried to reassure him that I was just going to rest my eyes, but there was nothing my body would respond to. He would just have to wait until I was done with my nap.

* * *

 **A/N:** At least this one is longer than the last chapter, right? I know there's a lot of questions right now about everything going on, but I promise in the next two chapters there will be some serious explanations happening.

Thank you to those who reviewed on the last tiny chapter! To know that someone actually likes what I'm writing is a big push for me to keep going! So thank you from the bottom of my heart. :)

Please let me know what you like, what you don't like, and what you'd like to see happen in the story. Prompts are always welcome, they help the creative juices keep flowing. See you all next time!


	6. Six

My eyes opened to find myself standing precariously close to the edge of a cliff. My gaze swept over the land before me, noting the harsh terrain of the valley down below surrounded by jagged mountains. Small areas of flourishing greenery decorated the expanse, though the majority appeared to be desert or natural rock space. The air above was swarming with dark clouds, accenting the red sky.

I should have been shocked at the color, but the absolute feeling of contentment when looking at my surroundings gave me no reason to be distressed. The sky, the mountains, and the valley all gave me one overwhelming sense of calm – home. I realized _this_ was where I'd come from, the deep bowels of the Makai. I had thought it was another world, parallel to the human world, not where I was to go when I died.

Wait… had I truly died? Had I succumbed to blood loss so soon after escaping torture? Was I really that lame?

 _ **This is not death**_ _._

A commanding voice reverberated around me, hardly above a whisper. My feet carried me backwards, head moving in a sporadic fashion to find where the voice had come from. I froze as the ground beneath my feet began to shake as though an earthquake had decided to split the cliff. The crumbling of rocks reached my ears from the cliff side down below, but I didn't dare approach the edge again to inquire.

A strong gust of wind came driving up from the cliff and I raised my arms to block the rocks and dust as they began to swirl around me. The crumbling and cracking of rocks below grew louder and closer to the edge of the cliff I had just been standing on. Lowering my arms slightly, I cracked my eyes to attempt to view what was causing this chaos.

I felt my jaw grow slack at the sight before me. A giant, scale covered paw had reached over the side of the cliff to grasp onto the hard earth. Molten gold talons dipped into the ground as the paw pressed into the ground for leverage. My arms dropped to my sides as I began to stumble backwards again.

A curved, elongated neck and muscled shoulders appeared over the edge of the cliff, large membrane wings moving the air around us to push the creature higher onto the plateau. The long body followed soon after, but my focus had landed on the numerous golden horns that topped the reptilian head.

There was no doubt in my mind the creature that had pulled itself up the cliff to stand before me was a dragon – a Great Dragon. The scales that covered the expanse of the body glittered white like precious stones in the red-tinged sunlight. Four large horns protruded from the crest of its head, molten gold in color. Each smaller horn and spine that decorated the skull and neck were the same metallic color, as were the bones I could see shifting beneath the translucent skin of its bat-like wings.

The claws clicked against the hard rock that was scattered underneath us as the dragon fixed me with its piercing gaze. Its eyes were the same golden color as its horns and claws, the pupil constricted into a thin, vertical slit. The head of the beast was as tall as my mediocre frame at its peak. Lowering its head and neck, it curved around one side of me as its tail stretched languidly around the other to block me in.

I kept my body facing the dragon's head the entire time, turning to face it as it moved around me. The tail ended in a simple pointed tip, although nearly three feet of the end was plated in the same gold color instead of the white scales. I had a feeling it was more than a decoration on nature's part.

I should have felt fear or anxiety – but I was blissfully empty of any negative emotion. I met its gaze without reproach as it examined me; I felt no threat nor worry caused by the Great Dragon. Still, I was tentative as I reached forward to place a hand on its scaly cheek as it pulled closer to me. A faint keening noise escaped its nostrils as my palm found its cool scales.

 _ **Rihama.**_

The whisper I had heard before was much louder now, the feminine alto curling around my psyche – the dragon. Her voice was smooth, her tone laden with pining. I shook my head slowly in response. "I don't feel like Rihama…"

She scoffed at me, her snout muscles scrunching tightly in disdain.

 _ **Of course you don't – you have forgotten what we were like before our human days.**_

I turned my head to the side, raising an eyebrow at her. "We?"

The was a burst of huffs and clicking that emanating from her throat – from the lift at the corner of her large mouth, I assumed it was a chuckle. _**I am Rihama. As are you.**_

I threw my head back in a bark of laughter and rolled my eyes. "So I'm talking to myself. Awesome – not like I needed to seem any crazier."

She hissed at me, the clicking sounds returning as a growl enunciated her displease. Apparently Rihama was full of noises. _**Shut up and listen. Koenma will come for us soon. You must tell him of the pact we made with King Enma – for refuge in the Ningenkai from the hunters who killed Kotomaru.**_

I placed my other hand on her cheek, and leaned forward so my forehead pressed against her scales. What could only be described as a deep purr started deep in her chest. "I knew I –well, _you_ didn't kill him…"

Rihama squeezed her eye shut as if in pain. _**No, we did not kill him… but we did not save him, either.**_ When her eye opened again, a clear strand of liquid escaped her eye – a tear. I reached out to wipe it away, but as my hand touched the tear I was jolted with the memory of my last days in the Makai and of Kotomaru. I found myself shaking as I pulled away from her

This was too much information – too many memories.

Rihama whined as she moved her head closer to nudge me gently. _**Please… I do not wish to be separated any longer. A dragon soul is not meant to be split. Now that you have cracked the seals, there is no going back.**_

I moved back to the edge of her jaw and wrapped my arms around as much of her neck as I could in a hug. I tried not to think of the fact that I was, in essence, hugging myself – my inner nature.

She jolted against me after a moment as she pulled her head and neck up, much faster than I had expected from such a large creature. Her eyes glowed a bright gold as mine had before. Her maw opened to reveal razor-sharp rows of teeth.

 _ **Now GO!**_ Her words echoed harshly as she let out a tremendous roar. It shook me down to my bones; I had to cover my face again with my arms as the dust rose around us. As my body was lifted from the ground and thrown backwards, I let out a small cry – I was falling.

* * *

I opened my eyes to find my vision blocked by a cold hand. One was pressed gently over my eyes and the other was hovering over my chest. Immediately, I felt uneasy.

Hiei, who had been the last person touching me when I succumbed to the blood loss and pain, had a skin temperature that rivaled a furnace. The contrast of that short memory against the chilled hands that touched me now sent me into a defensive mode.

I bared my teeth at the person hovering over me and swiped my arm up and across what I assumed was their abdomen with more strength than I thought capable. The hands were moved from my eyes as the person was thrown back with a sharp, feminine cry. I curled my legs up and reverse somersaulted behind the small pallet I had been laying on. There was a small part of my brain that objected to the movement, considering I wasn't exactly flexible. I had barely been able to touch my toes and absolutely forget any back-bends.

Instinct had me reversing myself from lying flat to rolling backwards into a crouched position, fangs bared, and claws dug into the hard wood of the floor, all within a matter of seconds. There was a throaty snarl escaping between my teeth as I assessed the situation I found myself in.

The door was thrown to the side with a sharp 'clack!' and a flash of black rushed across the room and grabbed me by the throat to slam me up against the back wall. I could feel my tender sides objecting to the harsh treatment and I clenched my eyes closed in pain. Another growl escaped me as I reached forward and my claws found purchase on skin.

"Stop this!" My eyes flew open as I heard Kurama's voice fill the small room. I found Hiei holding me by the throat, my toes brushing the floor as he held me up. His own fangs were bared at me, a vindictive vigor burning in his eyes. There were three deep scratches across his cheekbone, blood already leaking down to his jawline and dripping slowly between us. My hands were gripping his biceps, one set of claws tipped with the blood I had torn from his face.

Realization crashed around me and I suddenly felt extremely nauseous. Hiei's hand was still clenched harshly against my throat and I struggled to breathe. Kurama appeared behind Hiei and placed a hand on his shoulder. "Let go."

Hiei let out a small growl and waited another moment before releasing me and stepping back. My soles hit the floor and I took in a large breath, air getting caught in my throat and causing a sporadic coughing fit. One hand leapt to my throat where the skin was tender; I wouldn't doubt if my skin had already begun to bruise.

I looked up to find Kurama kneeling on the floor next to a young woman with mint green hair and a light blue kimono, his hands giving her purchase to pull herself from the floor. She must have been the one hovering over me. I instantly felt guilty.

"Oh, I'm so sorry…" My voice was scratchy from being crushed under Hiei's hand. "I didn't mean to, I thought…"

"It's quite alright, miss." The young woman had risen back onto her feet and smoothed her kimono with gentle hands. Her strawberry red eyes regarded me with kindness instead of the anger or fear I had expected. "Kurama explained what happened – I would have been more surprised if you hadn't reacted like that."

"That's no excuse." Hiei's tone was still snappish as he glared at me. I quelled under his intense gaze, and mumbled an apology to him as well. His gaze never faltered.

"If you're not wary of waking up to someone strange touching you after escaping torture, then I'd say something was wrong with you." There was a scratchy, female voice drifting in from the doorway. I glanced up to find a wiry older woman with pastel-pink hair smirking at me. She was far shorter than any of us, but I could feel the authoritative power emanating from her.

I finally stood up straight, one hand still clutching at my neck. My eyes moved from the older woman to Kurama, who gazed at me with far more sympathy than I needed.

"Hiei, you bruised her." Kurama chastised the other male, who looked no guiltier than he had previously. Dark crimson eyes narrowed further at me as the corner of his lips pulled back in aggravation.

"She scratched my face – she's lucky those are only bruises."

The younger woman stepped towards me with her hands extended, palms up and open. I recognized the gesture as one typically given to a wild animal, showing no ill will was meant. "I can help, if you would allow me to."

I eyed her warily, but nodded. She stepped closer and pressed soothing hands gently against the tender skin of my throat. I tried to restrain the flinch that occurred when her skin touched mine, but she paid no attention to it. She quietly explained her name was Yukina and was an ice demon. Her gifts centered in healing others and she had been trying to encourage my body's healing from the severe blood loss.

"I'm afraid I wasn't able to heal the cuts on your side." Yukina's voice was sad, almost disappointed. "I can heal your bruises and other scrapes, but…"

I gave her a grim smile. "That's alright, Yukina. I'm used to waiting weeks for anything to heal – it's probably the only thing I have patience for."

She gave me a soft smile and removed her hands. My neck didn't hurt anymore, at least. During the time Yukina healed me, Hiei had disappeared. Kurama remained and introduced me to Genkai, the older woman with pink hair. She regarded me with a skeptical gaze before turning on her heel and leaving the small room without a word.

Kurama smiled grimly as he turned back to me. "Genkai will want to speak with you soon, but Yukina here had the suggestion first that you should get a shower and a change of clothes."

Yukina nodded and gave me a soft smile. She was a tiny little thing, delicate in every single feature; of course she would be the one to take pity on me.

"A shower would be fantastic, actually." My voice was weary, and I suddenly felt drained of all the energy and adrenaline that I'd gained in my panic. Kurama motioned to the doorway and Yukina took the first step out. Kurama led me along with a soft hand on my back, but I flinched away every time his skin touched mine. While I understood why I was having such a response, it was extremely frustrating I couldn't control the way my body reacted.

After a moment of walking down a long hallway, Yukina pulled a door aside to step in. I recognized the white tile and the humidity in the air– I was finally going to be clean!

Kurama nodded to me as I nearly floated into the bathroom, excited for the prospect of soap. He leaned down to Yukina to whisper in her ear. Although his words were intended only for her, my ears caught his comment, "Hiei and I will be right outside these doors. Scream and we will come."

I could feel my face grow hot as I stumbled over my feet, barely keeping my balance as I walked deeper into what I could now see was more of a locker room than a typical bathroom. I tried to keep the frown off my lips, but I was hurt. I wasn't a guest here as much as I was a prisoner…

At least being captive here meant a shower.

I pushed down the feeling of betrayal from Kurama. He was the only familiar presence in this new world of mine and even he considered me a threat. I wanted to sulk, but I had more important things to think about.

"There are soap and towels just around this wall." Yukina motioned for me. "And I will be here if you need anything."

I nodded to her and stepped forward to play with one of the handles. It took me a few seconds, but I got the small shower head to spit out cold water. As I waited for the stream to grow hot, I turned around to disrobe. I had assumed Yukina would have retreated so I could have privacy, but she had not moved. I glanced up at her, then back to my clothes. When she remained where she was, I understood that this really was like a prison – she wasn't going to take her eyes off of me. I sighed and placed my hands at the top of my rolled sweatpants. I hadn't undressed in front of anyone since high school gym class, but that was nearly ten years ago. I wasn't exactly comfortable allowing others to see my body – especially now that I was covered in blood and grime.

I pushed my sweatpants down, trying to ignore the girl a few steps to the side. I failed, though, and glanced up at her face.

She had enough decency and respect for me as a person to stare straight ahead instead of looking directly at me. I knew she could see what I was doing in her peripheral vision, but the fact that she wasn't scrutinizing me while I undressed caused me to sigh in relief.

I shed my clothes as quickly as I could as the steam began to rise; the shower had gotten hot enough. When I grabbed the bottom of my tank top and pulled up, I let out a sharp hiss as the cloth stuck to the dried blood on my sides and tugged at the tender wounds. Instead of panicking, I stepped into the hot water, hoping to rinse away enough of the blood to peel the material off.

The sting of the scorching shower was absolutely euphoric. The water ran directly over my head, soaking through my hair and running the length of my body. I was suddenly very grateful for the water pressure, as it blasted through the ick that was my hair.

I moved my head enough so the water wasn't in my eyes and glanced down. Dark red water swirled at the drain under me, tinged with all the blood that had soaked into my shirt and hair. This was going to be a disgusting event.

Leaning my hands against the wall, my eyes closed and allowed the water to soak into my hair and shirt. I could still feel Yukina's presence behind me, but I had more pressing matters to contemplate.

I had seen myself – Rihama, the Great Dragon, in my dream. She – I, was _magnificent_. A conceited thought, perhaps, but I wished with every fiber of my being that I could be like that again. Her presence was overwhelming, not only for her size but for her aura and personality. She enveloped me in her existence, all the while I had to attempt to wrap my head around the fact that I _was_ her.

I opened my eyes as the realization hit. Being Rihama came with a complicated past – the memory of Kotomaru she had restored gnawed at my heart. She'd said we had not saved him…

An out of body experience is not something I was familiar with, but the memory Rihama had released of Kotomaru defined it vividly for me. Her impression of the Red Dragon was an enormity of respect and fondness. She – I didn't love him, but he was my intended. We had been paired, but he had given me the space and time that I'd needed. He'd gone into hibernation in the mountains of the Makai, far away from our homeland.

Though I couldn't recall how I'd found him, there was an overwhelming sense of panic – _hunters_. They'd wanted our scales, fangs, bones; hell, they'd even wanted our saliva! Great Dragons did not make appearances to the rest of the Makai often. He was still sleeping when the hunters entered his cave – I had stood before them as the Great Dragon Rihama, my fangs and talons ready to tear apart any who dared to harm my intended. I refused to allow them to touch me, or Kotomaru.

The hunters had been prepared, though. They trapped me, their weapons intended for taking several dragons down. As I struggled against their restraints, an opening came available and I broke free. I'd had to make a choice…

Did I chose to stay with Kotomaru, who'd woken from his hibernation to find himself surrounded by hunters and his future mate struggling to escape? They would have slaughtered us both, harvested every single piece of our bodies, and distributed as much as they could to the black market of the Makai. Or, I would have to abandon one of my own to the hunters so I could escape, survive, and hope to avenge his death in the future.

I'd chosen to abandon him - my friend, my kin, my mate…

My cheeks and nose grew hot as tears stung at my eyes. I used the hand I'd been leaning on to rub my eyes harshly and willed away the tears. This was not the time or place to grieve. I reached down and grabbed the bottom of my tank top to attempt to peel it off once again. I was too angry with past self, so it was not a slow or gentle process. Thankfully, the water had soaked the material and scabs enough so I only felt a tug or two as the material finally released. I was grateful that I didn't have a mirror to see the carnage that was my sides. Shifting uncomfortably at the new sensations, my body was finally and fully unclothed under the hot water. I reached forward and grabbed the bar of soap set on a small shelf of the wall; might as well get cleanup started.

It took nearly the entire bar and a good half hour for me to finally feel clean enough. My hair came untangled after using up all the conditioner in the tiny bottle provided. The strands had been soaked in far too much of my blood, I'd wondered briefly if it would be stained red now. I scrubbed every inch of my skin until it was raw and flushed from the rough treatment of my own hands.

When my body was as clean as possible with the tools provided, I turned off the water and squeezed my hair to rid it of the excess. Thankfully, when I grabbed the white towel afforded to me and wiped my face with it, there was no extra residue that came off – no old makeup, no dirt, and no blood. I felt refreshed.

Wrapping the towel around my body, I turned back to Yukina. Although she was my technical jailer, she continued in her polite demeanor as I was led back around the dividing wall between the showers and what appeared to be cabinets. Reaching up into one, she carefully pulled down a pair of plain underclothes, loose pants, and a long sleeved shirt. I was handed the underwear and pants first and she stepped sideways to reach into another cabinet. I kept the towel wrapped firmly around my torso as I pulled on the clothing.

Pulling the drawstring tight enough for the pants to settle on my hips, I glanced up at Yukina who now held a small jar in one hand and a roll of gauze in the other.

"I apologize, but since I could not heal your sides…" The expression on her face was a mix of pity for me and disappointment in her abilities to heal. "If you take off the towel, I'll put a soothing ointment Kurama made and wrap you so you won't have a repeat of your shirt sticking."

I wrinkled my nose, but nodded. There was a delay in my movement as I made to remove the towel, having to willingly bare myself before the smaller girl so she could tend to me. At least before I could ignore her as I was focused on the shower. I pressed my lips together and lifted my arms enough so there was plenty of access to my sides.

Yukina's cold hands were just as soothing as the ointment she spread gently across the cleaned incisions. Again, I tried not to flinch at her touch, but the combination of her cool skin, the sting of the ointment, and the fact that I was naked from my waist up had me on edge. By the time she had finished both of my sides, my entire body was taut with anxiety. The young woman shot me a sympathetic smile before reaching for the gauze.

Thankfully, she made quick work of wrapping my torso, going so far as to wrap all the way up to the tops of my breasts as she explained that the bra as I'd had before would hinder the healing of the highest incisions. The gauze would at least give me a layer between my skin and the shirt, which she then assisted me to pull on as my sides were wrapped up tight. When I'd adjusted my clothing, she led me back to the door and pushed it aside.

Kurama was standing just outside as he had informed Yukina before, with Hiei opposite him in the hall leaning against it. Hiei's face bore a deep scowl as he held a piece of cloth against his face. I had completely forgotten I'd attempted to remove his face entirely – I had apologized, though! Kurama's brow was furrowed in frustration, but as the kitsune turned towards us his demeanor lightened quickly.

"Ria, I trust you enjoyed your shower – "

"At least now we can stand the smell."

I scrunched my nose and narrowed my eyes at Hiei, whose expression had turned stoic to match the monotone of his insult. Apparently, he was still slighted that I had accidentally attacked Yukina and tore into his face. Granted, the more I thought about it, I would have been wary of me, too.

Instead of responding to him, I turned back to Kurama. The frown plastered on his face as he looked me up and down was unnerving – had I done something?

"Kurama? Is something wrong?"

The fox's eyes snapped back up to my face. "My apologies, I didn't mean to stare so blatantly." My shoulders lifted in a shrug as I reached up to run my fingers through my damp hair. My claws made quick work of the few tangles I found, which I was thankful for as my hair was drying quickly. The natural waves in the strands wouldn't be so awkward now. "I was attempting to understand the alterations in your appearance."

Now, _that_ had me downright confused. "Alterations? My clothes?"

Kurama's gaze never faltered, his eyes squinting as he took my appearance in. "Even though you were covered in grime, I could see your features. There are… changes."

"Did you not think to look in a mirror, woman?" Hiei had pushed off the wall and faced me fully.

"I was a little distracted." I frowned at him and touched my sides gingerly. The demon's presence was beginning to aggravate me.

Kurama waved a hand, dismissing our interaction. "You should take a look, it would be beneficial to know what differences there are to you."

"I did bring a small one here, if you'd like." It was Yukina's soft voice that made me turn. In her hands was a small compact. I reached out to grab it from her hand, but the sight of my hands made me pause. The claws I had sprouted from my fingers were sharp and far more dangerous than I was used to. Instead of attempting to grab the compact without scratching Yukina's hand, I held my own out, palm up, and allowed the young woman to place it there herself.

It was barely the size of my palm, so I gently clicked it open to find that both sides were mirrors. I watched as my brow furrowed in the reflection at the sight of my eyes – my once coffee brown eyes had lightened to a soft caramel, far brighter than I had ever seen. Flecks of gold danced around my cornea, giving the color more depth than I'd had previously.

The bruises that had splattered across my face from being hit by the car were gone. My skin was smooth and unscathed – too much so. I recalled several instances in high school from falling or getting in the way of a door (I was not the most graceful adolescent), and I'd carried several scars from these times. Namely, I'd been jumping around my bed one night and had fallen off, landing just so on a pile of clothes I hadn't put away. There had been a pen in the pocket of the jeans I'd just taken off – the tip scratched me from temple to my cheek. Or the time I'd ducked under a hole in the tall chain-link fence on my way home from school and caught my jaw on a jagged edge. I'd had to get stitches on that one.

However, as I turned my head side to side and inspected every inch of my face, I could not find one trace of the two scars, or any others I could remember. I opened my mouth to comment, but the words died in my throat as I caught an eyeful of my fangs.

And fangs they were – I'd remembered the comment I'd made to Hiei, his fangs were barely longer than what most would deem normal. The sharp incisors that graced my mouth, however, could not be passed off as a simple cosmetic anomaly.

"… I look like a damn vampire."

Kurama hid a chuckle behind his hand as Hiei scoffed.

I blinked up at the two of them. "What else am I supposed to think? Look at these ridiculous things! How the hell am I talking anyway?" My nose wrinkled as I drug my tongue along the tips of my top row of teeth, noting how my mouth was already familiar with the sharp sensation.

I'd read my fair share of vampire books and seen plenty of the movies – if I showed these new fangs off to anyone I knew back in the States, I'd be staked for sure.

"You've had no issue with prattling on. I would assume it is just second nature." Hiei scoffed again as he removed the cloth from his face. The gouges I'd made in his face earlier had stopped bleeding and were lightly scabbed over. Hiei was lucky he didn't move his mouth very much – the healing skin would pull if he opened his mouth too far.

I fixed my newly lightened eyes on him, glaring. Instead of answering his insult, which would only encourage the demon, I turned my attention back to the small mirror. The worry lines I'd developed on my forehead had smoothed. Even the scars I'd had from picking at my face when adolescent acne had struck were gone! At least the dark circles that had accumulated from numerous late nights studying for college had stuck around, but even they had faded slightly.

I grabbed at a section of my hair, one that had nearly dried – again, far lighter than I remembered. I had always prided myself on the light brown hair I'd never touched with dye. Now I looked like I'd spent too much time in the sun – golden blonde highlights were scattered throughout, adding texture and depth. The overall color had begun to lighten, too, but I refused to acknowledge that my hair had gone from a warm brown to dirty blonde.

I closed the little compact with a snap and thrust it back at Yukina. "I don't want to see any more." I was shaken; losing scars and changing both hair and eye color was unnerving. Yes, I'd hated the scars on my face, but I'd accepted them. Each scar defined memories – stories of who I was. My brown hair and eyes hadn't been unique in any sense, but it was part of me, part of the human Ria.

Glancing up at Kurama, I found him regarding me with nothing but sympathy. Irritation rose in me – I didn't want his pity. He must have seen the darkening of my expression or the negativity in my own gaze as he replaced the sympathy with a stoic mask.

Hiei smirked beside him. "Didn't like what you saw, _dragon_?" He drew the word out, seething the syllables through his teeth – mocking me.

My eyes flashed to him, my irritation now focused on the red-eyed man. "I like changes to my appearance just as much as you like that fucking stick up your ass... _demon._ "

As Hiei's smirk faltered and faded into a tight-lipped frown, I felt my mind catch up with my mouth. My hand slapped across my lips as my eyes widened. Kurama once again had to stifle a chuckle.

Dropping my hand to my chest, I broke eye contact and let my gaze fall to the floor. "Sorry, that was supposed to stay in my head."

There was a small silence that followed my half-hearted apology. I hadn't meant for the sarcastic retort to actually escape my mouth. Generally, I had a fairly controlled filter. I'd learned a long time ago sarcasm was only useful in making certain kinds of friends – and I doubted I was high on the list to make friends with the people who were now my 'keepers.'

Kurama broke the silence, thankfully, clearing his throat and taking a step towards me. "Well, I think now would be a good time for you to talk to Genkai."

I glanced up at him to nod, ignoring the other male who I knew what still glaring daggers at me. Yukina, who had remained quiet, took a step back and bowed to Kurama. "I will allow you some privacy with Master Genkai. Excuse me."

Her bright red eyes glanced briefly at me before she spun gracefully and headed down the hall. Kurama stepped into the empty space she'd left and I was forced to look up at him. He was smiling gently down – I wanted to be comforted by his relaxed demeanor, but Hiei's tense aura continued to agitate me. I couldn't help the frown that tugged at the corners of my lips.

"Come now, Ria. Don't look so forlorn – Genkai knows many thing. Perhaps she knows what happened to you." My eyebrow raised as I was skeptical that anyone could help me at this point, but I shrugged and gestured for Kurama to lead on. "Follow me."

The red-head stepped around me and headed down the opposite hall than what Yukina had used. I fell into step behind him, noting that Hiei followed us shortly after. Apparently, I warranted an entourage.

I'd only been following Kurama for a few moments before my guilt took control. I glanced back over my shoulder at Hiei, who continued to glare at me. "Hiei?" When he didn't respond, I took it as affirmation that I should continue. "I'm… I'm sorry about what I did to your face."

I didn't stop to turn around, but I could hear the unsatisfied grunt that the male in black gave. I doubted that my apology would make up for causing him to bleed, but I didn't do well with guilt – if I didn't apologize, it would eat away at me. At least now my subconscious wouldn't worry me so much.

"Hiei, even though Ria is not exactly a normal guest, you should still keep your manners." Kurama did not turn his head to reprimand his friend, but I could still hear the small smile in his voice. I suppose he found it funny that I had expressed regret.

"Then apology not accepted." Hiei's gruff voice sounded from behind me. I pursed my lips at his response, but I shrugged. I had apologized; even if he didn't forgive me, my subconscious wouldn't care. As long as I admitted fault, I was done.

Kurama glanced over his shoulder to smile at me before continuing the trek down the hall. He finally led to an open door and motioned for me to enter first. Walking in to what appeared to be a sitting room, I found Genkai and Yusuke in a heated discussion.

And by heated discussion, I mean a screaming match. I didn't understand half of the words that came from their mouths as they seemed to be insulting each other in familiar terms, although I did catch "old hag" and "dimwit" fairly often.

As Kurama and Hiei stepped in behind me, Kurama shut the sliding door with a small 'clack' and cleared his throat. The room's original occupants immediately stopped screaming at each other and Yusuke turned to smile evenly at us.

"Hey, guys, what took ya so long?" He settled back down onto the floor next to a small table the two of them had been sitting at. Genkai relaxed as well, although she settled back on her knees and closed her eyes. I recognized her expression – she was attempting to be patient with the young man across from her.

I felt a hand on my mid back and realized I had frozen in place. Again, Genkai's aura pushed at me – her presence commanded attention. I suddenly missed being so ignorant to auras and energies – each person near me was potent.

Kurama's cool hand urged me forward and I stepped next to the table to take a seat in a cross-legged position, stumbling the whole way in nervousness. I assumed she was the one allowing me to stay here and as such was the warden of my new prison. The kitsune moved around the other side of the table to sit on his knees as Genkai had. Hiei refused to sit at the table with us, instead stepping a short distance away to sit and lean his back against the wall, all the while wearing a look of disdain.

My focus trailed over to Yusuke, who also appeared to have showered. His hair was no longer slicked back but hung low over his eyes. He was relaxed, leaning back onto the palms of his hands. Glancing up at Genkai, I found her eyes were trained on me.

I twitched, not expecting her intense gaze to be so daunting. Fidgeting with the hem of my shirt, my eyes dropped to my lap. Would she lock me up again? Maybe I wouldn't be restrained, but if I was trapped in a space so shortly after being released from the last… I didn't think my psyche could take it.

"You're not going to be any trouble while you're here, are you?" The older woman's scraggly voice was skeptical. My brow furrowed and I shook my head. _Me – trouble? Never_. "Not going to blow anything up? Rip anyone to shreds? Pillage the surrounding towns? Steal all our gold?"

I shook my head at each question, but by the last I could tell she was mocking me. Pursing my lips, I turned my eyes back to her. "Look, I don't know what Koenma told you- "

She flapped a hand at me, dismissing my retort. "Koenma doesn't tell me shit. I want _you_ to tell me what's going on."

I had to blink a few times to clear my head. _This woman was willing to listen?_ "What do you want to know?"

"Tell me your story – start from the beginning."

I scrunched my nose as glanced at Kurama and then Yusuke. The former gave me an encouraging nod and the latter indicated with his head for me to start. Taking a deep breath, I attempted to calm my frazzled nerves before launching into my life.

I began when I was 16, my earliest memories were barely before I was adopted by the older Malinov couple. They'd never had children of their own and had no extended family, but had always had at least one foster child in their home. As they reached retirement years, they decided to adopt an older child – that happened to be me. I didn't get in to trouble, I didn't participate in extracurriculars – I just studied.

When my adoptive parents had passed when I was 19, during my first year of college, I had been given a fair inheritance to pay for my tuition, continue caring for the house they left me, and set aside for emergencies. After I graduated with my degree, I'd immediately been offered a position at Franklin & Cook Accounting Firm, where I'd been working for the past three years. I had been content with my life – I'd had a few close aquaintences, a steady paycheck, and a routine.

When I began to tell Genkai of what had transpired the days following the car accident – the mysterious accelerated healing I'd exhibited, the way Clayton had drugged me and kidnapped me, and the torture he had put me through, my jaw became so tense I was nearly talking through my teeth. My hands were shaking with anger and my nails dug into the skin of my palms as my fists clenched.

"After these guys showed up, something in me… broke. The energy that had been trapped in me was free for a moment. There were… memories that suddenly came back and I _knew_ that my life, my human life, had been part of some ridiculous lie." My lips quivered as I reigned in my emotions. Now was not the time to cry. After staring at my lap during my entire explanation, I looked up at Genkai with resolve. "In my past, I was known as the Great Dragon Rihama. Now Koenma says that Rihama is guilty of atrocious crimes – but I _know_ he's wrong."

Genkai was quiet for a moment as she regarded me with narrowed eyes. I maintained the eye contact with her, but she was the first to turn away. Closing her eyes and sighing, she shook her head. "I know of you, Rihama. It's been nearly a hundred years since you vanished from the Makai and the trail of destruction you left behind had fallen into history."

There was a lump in my throat – my emotions were becoming harder to handle. "I don't know everything that happened, but…" Anger edged away the hurt that had torn at me. I honestly didn't know what had happened after I escaped the hunters, but I knew one thing for certain. "I did _**not**_ kill Kotomaru."

Genkai's eyes remained closed as she nodded. "I'm not your judge or jury, kid. Don't plead with me; Koenma's the one who has to believe you."

I slumped in my seated position. Balancing my elbows on my thighs, I placed my head in my hands and buried my fingers in my still damp hair. Koenma already wasn't my biggest fan – he had wanted to arrest me on the spot when he first learned who I really was. So I was supposed to convince the little prince I was innocent? "Well, shit..."

* * *

 **A/N:** I know there's really not a bunch of excitement going on in this chapter, but there's a lot of confusing shiz going on with Ria – and it may or may not get worse.

Anywho, this story has reached over 1300 views! Which, to me, is awesome. Thank you so much to those who reviewed the previous chapter (kamiccolo's rose, Kaiya's Watergarden, Tsuki Kitsune Moon Fox, lilnightmare17, and ALRose) and to those who've added this story to their favorites or following! It means a lot to know that someone other than my own weird little mind likes this stuff.

Update on my life, my husband is gone for two months for some training and neat things for his position. Which translates to: he's on the beach in CA for the next two months while I am still in the frozen tundra. Saturday's high is -6 degrees Fahrenheit. That's right, the high is a negative number! Ugh.

As always, please consider reviewing and, if you haven't yet, hop over to my profile to take my poll. Thanks!


	7. Seven

My hands remained pressed against my head as my mind whirled. How in all the realms was I going to convince Koenma I wasn't guilty? I had the memory of what had truly happened, but I seriously doubted the little ruler would take my word for it. Kurama had, though.

I shook my head, trying to rid the thoughts of Kurama. I vaguely understood he'd been a friend in my past, but the fact he saw me as a threat, even in this form, stung. Friends were supposed to be trustworthy, weren't they?

Genkai's gravelly voice dragged me from my thoughts. "Kid, I've got the gist of what happened." My hands lowered so I could glance up at her through my lashes. My hair hung low on my face, but I left them opting to hide behind the newly lightened tresses instead. "But I've got a few other questions for you. I may not give you a verdict, but this is still my house and you better play by my rules."

At her words, I straightened up in my cross legged position and dropped my hands to my lap completely. Genkai wasn't part of Spirit World – it more so appeared like she did favors for Koenma on her own whim. Neutral parties like her were hard to come by. I frowned slightly as I met her gaze again. "You can ask, but I don't know very much."

"Just tell us what you can, Rihama." Kurama's gentle voice drifted from his spot opposite me. As I turned to look at him, he gave me a soft smile. I could feel the heat creeping up my face in a mix of embarrassment and resentment towards the kitsune. Why did he have to be so damn relaxed?

I reiterated my earlier annoyance, " _Don't_ call me that." My voice was low and quiet as I turned back to face Genkai. It was too much for him to look at me with such familiarity and kindness when I knew his distrust was just beneath.

There was a quiet scoff from Hiei in his position behind Genkai. "That is your name."

My head shook quickly as I thought about the Great Dragon. I wasn't her, not yet. "I don't feel like Rihama. Just… keep calling me Ria for now. Please?"

Genkai shrugged her affirmation and I could see Kurama nodding slightly from the corner of my eye. Yusuke waved a hand at me, waving off my comment. "Alright then, _Ria_ , what I want to know is how you got to the Ningenkai in the first place."

That got me – from what I could remember, demons weren't usually allowed in the human world due to their appetite for, well, humans. The more powerful they were, the more humans they could eat. I assumed the Great Dragons were called 'great' for a reason, considering I couldn't actually recall.

"The Kekkai Barrier only recently came down. I doubt you would have been able to cross it previously on your own." Genkai's eyes had narrowed – not in suspicion, but in thought. She'd guessed already and, from observing the older woman, it didn't surprise me.

"I barely remember anything about the Kekkai Barrier, but from what Rihama has told me she made a deal with King Enma." I'd had to choose my words carefully, but I still felt as though I'd receive the reaction of 'she's mental!' from the small group. And, true to form, nearly every ones' brow furrowed in confusion.

"How exactly does one tell themselves information?" Kurama's question was quiet and, I assumed, rhetorical. But it was sure to be weighing on all their minds.

"It's… complicated." I frowned as I tried to verbalize what I'd seen. "I'm not sure if I'd call it a vision, but I saw Rihama as the Great Dragon when I passed out earlier. She spoke to me and told me she'd made a deal with the King of the Reikai for refuge."

Yusuke snorted from his seat, covering his mouth with a hand as he sniggered. "If you want to talk to Enma, then you're shit out of luck."

My mouth fell open. "What? Why?"

"Enma was overthrown – Koenma found out he'd been letting in demons this whole time to 'keep the balance' or some shit." Yusuke threw up mock quotation marks as he spoke. From his tone of voice, I could tell Enma hadn't been revered or respected in quite some time. "He blamed a lot of violence on demons, when it was equally humans' fault."

"He was a corrupt bastard." Hiei's face held a dark smirk as I glanced over to him. "The worlds are glad to be rid of him."

My heart clenched in panic – if Enma had been overthrown, who was there to inspect the deal I had made? "Who rules Reikai now?"

Yusuke let out a bark of laughter. "Freakin' Koenma."

I threw up my hands in exasperation – I just couldn't escape the little ruler! "Well, shit. I thought he was the prince."

Kurama nodded at my comment, his green eyes crinkled in mirth at Yusuke's antics. "He was prior – however, it was Koenma who overthrew his father and set out to make things right. It wouldn't surprise me if Koenma is still getting used to his new station."

Genkai sighed heavily from her position, her arms crossed and eyes closed. We all looked to her as she began to shake her head. "And it wouldn't surprise me if Enma placed Rihama in the Ningenkai as some kind of landmine – ready to cause a catastrophe whenever he needed demons to look like the bad guys again."

The idea seemed to click with the males in the room. I could almost hear the wheels turning in Yusuke's head as he contemplated Genkai's revelation, his face contorted into an expression of deep thought. "It makes sense." As suddenly as he had turned brooding, his demeanor flipped as he cackled. The wide grin threatening to split his face was so contagious I couldn't even help but crack a smile. "He put little Ria here as an atom bomb!"

"I'm not little!" I grumbled as Yusuke continued laughing. His infectious amusement allowed me a moment to actually observe the man. He looked so carefree in the moment, I finally noticed he was still quite young for someone who carried himself with such a sense of purpose. Although, anyone could see the other side of it on him plain as day – some burden weighed heavily on him. But this? This was a young man with a devil-may-care attitude and a 'bad boy' persona who probably broke girls' hearts wherever he went.

I shouldn't have looked so intently, though, as a sense of apprehension began to build in the pit of my stomach. While he controlled his energy well, I could sense a ferocity lingering underneath the surface of his bright aura. He was strong and dangerous in his own regard – was this how he had drawn Kurama into his circle of friends?

The redhead in question was shaking his head with a small smile on his face as he watched Yusuke laugh. "Perhaps we should focus on the task at hand, Yusuke. Genkai?"

The older woman had allowed a small smile to slip at Yusuke, but it faded as she turned back to me. "Did the man who brought you here know of your heritage?"

"Clayton?" The thought of the man sobered me instantly. I was trying so hard to forget about him. "No, he just thought I had some kind of healing power."

"And do you?"

I pondered the question for a moment, wracking my brain for some kind of memory that spoke of healing. Very little was available to me in my brief snippets of recollection, but healing was not something I would have taken likely. Dragons were strong, true, but they could die very easily if the right opportunity came – they were cautious in that regard. I shook my head slowly. "I heal at the same speed as most demons. Quicker than humans, but nothing special."

Genkai placed a fist under her chin as she contemplated. "So this man foolishly though you had healing powers and wanted to take them from you."

I opened my mouth to question if it was possible for someone to commit such an act, but Yusuke's brash voice beat me to it. Kurama leaned forward then. "There are several kinds of demons who can drain one's energy and use their inherent gifts for a short time. Still others are able to mimic the attack or power if they have seen it. There are numerous artifacts able do the same, as well." Crossing his arms, he closed his eyes and his brows drew together. "We will have to question Koenma on this matter."

A small silence fell over our small group as the information mulled around our brains. Personally, I was not looking forward to any conversation with Koenma. It had felt blatantly biased against me the last time we held a conversation, if one could even call it such. He had considered me guilty of a crime I'd only just learned I was wanted for. I chewed at my bottom lip nervously, carefully keeping the pressure diverted from my fangs; there was quite a bit to think about.

"You know," I started off my inquiry carefully. "What I don't get… is why you all intervened earlier." I glanced up to find Yusuke staring blankly at me. I sighed inwardly and continued, "I mean, are you under Koenma's orders? Are you interrogating me for him now?"

A low chuckle filled my ears, each one of the men around me laughing quietly. I narrowed my eyes in suspicion – what had they found humorous? Yusuke was shaking his head slowly, a wry grin on his face. "I _used_ to be a Spirit Detective for the Reikai – you know, catching the 'bad' demons." He shoved a thumb in Kurama's direction. "Hiei and Kurama happened to _be_ the bad demons in my first case.

"Actually, now that I think about it… I'm pretty sure Hiei tried to kill my girlfriend." Yusuke shot a dark look in the black haired man's direction. Hiei looked back, one eyebrow raised.

"Emphasis on _tried_. I never succeeded." His voice was monotone with boredom.

"Yeah, but it's the attempted part that bugs me."

"I haven't attempted recently, so there's no issue."

"Recently?!"

There was a loud smack as Genkai reached across the table and hit Yusuke straight in the middle of his forehead with the butt of her palm. He fell back from the half crouch he had assumed during his spat with Hiei. "Shut up. I'm tired of your bickering. Explain to the girl why you're _not_ working for Koenma."

Yusuke rubbed his head slowly and glared at the pink-haired woman. "Old hag. Alright, so here's how it goes…" And then Yusuke launched into the enormous story of how he'd died and became a Spirit Detective, how Hiei and Kurama had broken into Reikai's vault (in which I gave an appreciative look towards Kurama – ever the thief), working for Koenma after they'd met Yusuke, and becoming a team for the Dark Tournament where, it turns out, Genkai had also died. "And that's not even the half of it."

I had to give my poor brain a few moments to wrap my head around everything. I glanced at the other occupants of the room. Hiei's face had remained neutral, but he'd interjected with bits Yusuke had forgotten. Kurama was smiling fondly at the memories and I put my anger at him aside for a moment. Instead, I turned my annoyance to Genkai.

"So, you're all going to sit here and tell me that both you and 'boy wonder' over here have _died_ and come back, not to mention participate in this Dark Tournament with all kinds of crazy people, but _my_ story isn't believable? For real?"

The older woman met my stare, the corners of her eyes crinkled as she allowed a small smirk to grace her lips. "I never said I _didn't_ believe you."

I threw back my head in exasperation. Can I just get a blunt answer? For once? "So _do_ you believe me?"

Genkai shrugged her shoulders nonchalantly before rising to her feet. The other men followed her example and raised to their full heights, although Yusuke did so with a fair bit of groaning. I stood up as well, noting how small I felt next to Yusuke and Kurama.

"For now," Genkai's voice was tired. "I'll take Kurama's word for it. Consider yourself on probation. Don't stray far from the temple, and if you do, Kurama must be with you as he has the honor of keeping an eye on you."

I glanced up at Kurama, the corners of his eyes crinkled with a hidden smile. My hope failed me for a moment as I realized it wasn't Genkai's belief or lack thereof, but she trusted Kurama's judgement. What would it mean for me when she realized Kurama found me to be a threat?

"I'm sticking around for a bit, too, grandma." Yusuke was reaching for the ceiling in a stretch. "Hiei, what about you man?"

Spiked hair bobbed as Hiei nodded. "For a short time. Wouldn't want the dragon to burn the place down."

I glared at him as fiercely as I could – the statement was uncalled for. "That's a stereotype. Who said I was a fire dragon?"

He rolled his eyes at me. "Are you?"

I faltered and closed my mouth quickly. Giving a half shrug, I answered, "I don't remember." I stopped and thought for a moment – I don't ever remember having fire spouting from my maw. Perhaps it wasn't in my nature. "But not all dragons breathe fire! That's racist, you know."

"Dragons aren't a race, they're an entire species." Yusuke was half laughing, half yelling. I suppose it was in response to the increase in volume and pitch my voice had taken. I turned my glare on him.

"It's speciesism, then!" I snapped, but I couldn't help the quirk at the corner of my lips that told the boys I was not completely serious. Yusuke grinned at me, but I noticed Kurama's expression had grown pensive. His arms were crossed against his body although he had brought one hand up to rest under his chin in a thoughtful gesture. The corns of my lips fell again as I noticed him, but thankfully Yusuke didn't have time to notice as Genkai made to exit the room.

"I leave her in your hands, then." She waved her hand nonchalantly as she turned down the hall and disappeared from my sight.

"Why don't you two see if Yukina needs help preparing dinner?" Kurama's voice addressed the two other men, who turned toward him. "I will escort Ria to her room."

They nodded their approval and made to leave the room, but not before Yusuke reached forward to nudge me in the shoulder with the flat of his hand. I bared my teeth, but his bright smile had me rolling my eyes at him – annoying brat.

When Kurama and I were left alone, he smiled politely at me though it did not reach his eyes. "Shall we?" He motioned towards the exit before stepping in front of me. I followed him, noting instead of feeling relieved to be allowed to stay, I felt more rejection than acceptance. I likened it to a working dog allowed to come in out of the rain – obligation but resentment. No one likes the smell of wet dog.

Kurama led me down the halls we'd come from previously and stopped in front of the room I'd woken up in. He pulled aside the door and stepped back to let me pass.

"This will continue to be your room while you stay here, if it suits you."

I shook my head with a dry chuckle. "Yeah, I suppose… I mean, I don't have much choice do I." The room was fairly small with enough room for a futon on one side and a chest of drawers on the other. A small closet with shelves was to the left, though it only contained an extra blanket.

Kurama remained quiet as I examined the space. His presence was daunting – his body language was tense enough to make me anxious. I glanced briefly over at him as I pulled open the drawers of the chest. After inspecting the fairly plain extra sets of pants, shirts, and underclothes, I spun on my heel and reached behind my back to grab my wrist. I looked up at Kurama, his green eyes still trained on me.

"I'm, uh… I'm kind of tired, so…" I fidgeted uncomfortably as he remained where he stood, his expression stoic. He observed me with an almost calculating expression, as if he expected me to turn wild at any moment or jump out of my skin. After what was far too long to be deemed polite, he nodded shortly to me.

"Rest _would_ be beneficial for you, after such a trying day. We will be nearby, should you need anything." I gave a half-hearted smile as the red-head stepped back and shut the door behind him as he exited. I waited a moment before letting out the breath I didn't know I'd been holding.

I crossed back to the opposite corner of the room where the futon had been set up for me. It wasn't anything special, not that I expected much, but still I flopped down on it. This _had_ been a trying day for me. My brain spun with the mass amount of information I'd been given. Although I tried to contemplate on the entirety of it, Kurama continued to plague me.

' _We will be nearby, should you need anything.'_ Need anything, yeah right… They'd be nearby because Kurama thought I was dangerous, but it was his word keeping me here. Genkai probably would have thrown me out or given me back to Koenma to deal with had Kurama not stuck his neck out. Hell, I wouldn't have even been here in the first place had Kurama not vouched for me.

Why did he though, if he thought I was so dangerous? Why not turn me over to Koenma and wash his hands of this whole mess? There had been no point to this. I'd wanted to question him – demand he tell me his motives for not trapping or killing me on the spot when he'd recognized my energy. If I was so dangerous he'd suddenly become wary of me, why was I still here?

I couldn't suppress the snarl as it escaped me, but my hand clamped down over my mouth not half a moment later. Such animalistic sounds to come from my throat was still an experience to get used to. Releasing my mouth, I moved so my upper arm was draped over my eyes. I could feel a headache building at the base of my neck. Laying down and relaxing for one small moment had made my body acutely aware of how much pain it had been subjected to.

My sides had begun to twinge with a constant stinging discomfort. My arms and legs ached on their own accord, and the headache was spreading to the base of my skull and behind my ears. Turning on one side to face the wall, I pulled myself into the fetal position and tried to ignore the pain of my body. Fortunately, I was so exhausted, physically and emotionally, it was easy for me to quickly fall asleep.

* * *

I was woken what felt like only minutes later by Kurama knocking on my door to let me know dinner was ready. I called back a sleepy 'Not hungry…' and curled back into my ball. Not long after, I heard the door slide open and two sets of feet enter the room. I moaned out of annoyance and covered my head with my arms.

The smell of the food I assumed Yukina had brought with her wafted over to me. While it smelled appetizing, my stomach twisted at the pain of my headache. I flinched when the extra blanket was spread over me suddenly a moment later and I cracked my eyes to see a flash of mint green hair as she exited the room. I curled a bit more comfortably on the futon and resumed my fitful sleep.

* * *

I remained in the room for five more days. While in my previous human experience I'd always been prone to bouts of depression, this one lasted far longer than I was used to. Unfortunately, I'd allowed myself to get inside my own head. I wallowed in my pity and anger until my eyes couldn't expel any more tears. So much time alone had allowed every single moment that had occurred since I'd been hit by the stupid green sedan to play in my mind. Every move Clayton had made against me, every cell exploding with energy as I'd tried to rip his head off, and every moment I'd had to comprehend I was not human played over and over again.

I was terrible company, but it didn't stop Yukina. She continued to bring me food at every meal. Although when she brought me the third meal on the first day and noticed I hadn't even touched the previous, she changed tactics and brought me broths instead. My stomach had refused the solid foods, but the broth was at least some nutrition I could keep down.

The little demoness had become determined to care for me, both physically and emotionally. She continued to use the balm on my sides as she'd done before. The incisions had new skin growing across them by the second day. She brushed and braided my hair after the first night, much to Hiei's chagrin, who was apparently keeping watch over me at the time. I glared at him the whole while as he kept watch over Yukina. Her small but deft fingers worked through the waves of my hair. She spoke softly to me of how wonderful the temple was – how she was living here to learn more about humans, how Genkai protected the land around from intruders, and how she had made so many friends here.

I listened to her patiently as she spoke kindly to me. Both Kurama and Hiei were wary of her spending so much time in my company and stayed constantly vigil when she would visit. Yusuke, however, was more laid back and contributed to conversation with Yukina, sitting on the floor next to her. I learned where Yukina came from in the Makai, how she too had been held captive, and how she'd found her home here.

I could never bring myself to ask her to leave me alone, no matter how often my pity wrapped itself around me. Generally, one of the boys would see me sink lower into my depression and would gently excuse them both from the room. I would attempt to slip off into sleep, but it became harder as I tossed and turned more violently each time.

Mainly, my troubled sleep came from the nightmares that had begun to plague me. I dreamed of Clayton when I closed my eyes, and the instances I didn't dream of him I dreamt of Kotomaru's death. And my twisted subconscious had supplied the details of his dismemberment I hadn't been witness to.

I must have woken sometime after midnight on what was to be my sixth day in the temple. My depression had dissipated slightly, but my anger at myself and at my situation had yet to follow suit. My stomach growled and I rolled over so I lay on my back. Glancing over, I noted Yukina had brought me a bowl of broth and a small roll.

I sighed and sat up to grab the bowl of broth. It was already cold, but I still let the whole container drain into my stomach. I nibbled on the roll for a moment while I contemplated what I was going to do from here.

One main thought really stuck out in my mind – _I could really use a drink._ I'd really never partaken of alcohol in my human life, only the occasional glass of wine or maybe a shot of whiskey on a really bad day. The only time I had truly used its effects to my full advantage was when my parents had died – I'd drank out of the bottle then.

My tongue darted out to lick my dry lips. Yes, a drink sounded like just what the doctor ordered. I rose slowly and stretched my poor muscles for a good few minutes as I remember what it was like to be upright.

Playing with my hair, which had begun to escape the braid Yukina had so carefully redone over the past several days, I contemplated where the best spot to look for some kind of liquor would be. I generally kept mine in the kitchen back in the states, would it be the same here?

I pushed the few wavy strands out of my face that had fallen from the braid – kitchen it was. I pulled the tie holding my hair in place and allowed the tresses to unwind of their own accord. I pulled off the old shirt and pants I had been sleeping in and grabbed a fresh set from the chest of drawers. Thankfully, some darker colors had been available this time – a dark gray set of loose pants and a black long-sleeved shirt. I also found a few sets of sports bras – Yukina must have brought them in when she brought the broth. Chastising myself, I made a mental note to thank her when I was over this slump.

I stretched again and pulled my hair over one shoulder before stepping towards the door; the waves had come undone fairly quickly. I'd probably have to wander for a while to find the kitchen, but I hoped it would be worth it.

I had completely forgotten I was essentially a prisoner here until I made to open the door. I'd had to share Yukina's company with a protective detail for the past several days, so of course there would be someone watching over me. And of course, it had to be Hiei who was stationed outside my door. He was in front of me before I could comprehend the wooden door I'd pushed aside had suddenly been replaced by a body. I realized this too late it seemed as I had to quickly halt my progression forward as not to run in to the demon.

My eyes nearly went cross-eyed to meet Hiei's red gaze, our faces far too close for my liking. He refused to budge and my mind had yet to catch up to the fact I had been stopped suddenly on my way out of the small room.

Our heights were nearly identical and I could see my reflection in his eyes before they narrowed at me. I was annoyed initially – hadn't I been taller than him just the other day? I must have really been slouching for us to be equal in height. Hiei also looked slightly taken aback by the difference. His eyes had been trained on my forehead when I'd opened the door, but they'd dropped down to meet mine within a moment. I'd have to start stretching more to get my back in alignment.

"Where do you think you're going?" His breath was hotter than a furnace, almost uncomfortably so. I could feel radiating off of him – was he sick with a fever? The thought had be backing up a step.

"I was going to the kitchen. Am I allowed?" I sneered my question to him. I knew I was, for all intents and purposes, a criminal here, but I just wanted to go raid the pantry for something to quench my thirst.

He made a slight huffing sound through his nose and stepped back just enough for me to slip out past him into the hallway. Glaring at him, I put a good few feet of distance between us. His stoic expression had replaced the mistrustful one I'd received originally. Opting to ignore him I glanced around, finding the same blank hallways as I'd seen previously. Which way would be the best choice to go find the kitchen? I looked down the hallway, turning away from the male.

"You don't even know where it is." Hiei's hot breath ghosted over the bare skin of my neck I'd pulled my hair away from. I tensed from the sudden heat and goose bumps appeared over my skin as I flinched away from him.

"Don't _do_ that!" I jumped away from him. A smug smile played at the corners of his mouth as he crossed him arms in front of him. I glared at him with fangs bared, but he just raised an eyebrow at me in response. "Ass."

"I was not aware you observed my backside." I relaxed my body as I gave a disgusted look at the demon. Oh, the man in black has fucking _jokes._

"Shut up – are you going to point me in the right direction or not?"

Spiked hair bobbed as Hiei tilted his head in mock confusion. "Why should I?"

My turn to raise an eyebrow. "I'm assuming you have to follow me around – would you rather have me wander aimlessly or just point me to the kitchen and save us both some grief?"

Hiei contemplated my statement for a moment before striding forward down the hall. At least he hadn't been condescending in that. I was grateful for a moment he had decided to lead me to my destination as he took several different turns before pushing a swinging door open to reveal a basic kitchen. He stepped aside to allow me in and I sidled in beside the man.

Glancing around at the cabinets, I opted for the one closest to me to begin my search. It took several tries, but I finally located the source of my interest tucked away behind jars of pickling spices – Genkai was attempting to keep it out of sight.

I let out a brief little chortle of triumph as I spun around and plopped down on the floor, tugging the cork out of the top of whiskey with my teeth. I took a long draught from the bottle, my face betraying how much the liquid burned as I swallowed. It was a good pain, though.

The warming sensation of the liquor filled my belly as I glanced up at Hiei, whose arms were crossed in front of him. His eyebrow raised as he observed my position. My eyes found the bottle again and a moment later I thrusted it in the male's direction, shaking it slightly so the liquid sloshed in the quiet kitchen.

His stoic mask remained as his eyes narrowed questioningly. I indicated the bottle again with my eyes. "Want some?" He gave a curt 'no' with a shake of his head and I shrugged as I pulled the bottle back to my lips. "Suit yourself." I allowed my eyes to close as I leaned my head back to take two large gulps of the whiskey. I gasped for air as the harsh liquid warmed my throat and stomach. It was going to hit me like a freight train considering I'd barely eaten or drank anything all day.

Resting my head and shoulders against the cabinet behind me, I sighed deeply. This was exactly what I needed. Sipping at the liquor slowly over the next few minutes, I allowed myself to delve into the feeling of becoming completely numb to the outside world. It was only when I heard the shuffling of feet and material did I open my eyes to find Hiei had sat down cross-legged opposite me. His sword, which had been hanging at his side, was placed next to him within quick reach. Eyes narrowed, he regarded me curiously as I did the same. Instead of imitating his scowl, though, I handed him the bottle. This time he accepted my offer, though he snatched the bottle roughly. I rolled my eyes at him as his nostrils flared, sniffing the contents. One he had determined it was suitable for his tastes, he took a long drag and one large gulp before handing it back to me.

Hiei's frown deepened as my fingers brushed the backs of his as I took the bottle back. Giving him a blank stare, I raised the bottle in a mock 'cheers' gesture before taking another drink. I despised him in the moment as he was able to maintain a straight face taking in the burning liquid while I could barely hide my grimace. I set the bottle down in front of me, knowing Hiei would be able to reach it.

"Drinking out of guilt?" His gravelly voice sneered out at me as he reached for the bottle again. I curled the side of my mouth in disgust.

"Drinking to loosen that stick up your ass?" The filter I'd had on my words had long since faded with the alcohol content in my system rising steadily. I didn't care at that particular moment if he did decided to retaliate. His eyes narrowed at me momentarily, but instead of retorting he took another long drag.

Within the next few minutes of silence passing between us, we drank nearly half of the bottle of whiskey. I kept my head pressed back against the cabinet, but whenever he passed it back I took it willingly. Warmth was spreading down to my fingers and toes. When my vision began to swim, I rubbed my eyes before looking up at the male before me. He met my gaze briefly, his eyebrow raising in a silent question.

"I didn't do it, you know." Surprisingly, my words had yet to slur. Hiei huffed as he brought the bottle to his lips again.

"The fox seems to believe that."

I squinted my eyes at him, confusion and a splash of hurt spreading through me. "But you don't."

Although I hadn't phrased it as a question, Hiei answered with a shrug and a quick, "I don't care." He set the bottle down in front of him before placing his hands on his knees, his eyes fixed on me.

I made a swipe for the bottle, but it moved quickly out of my range of grasp; Hiei held it out beside him. I pouted as I was denied. "Why are you such an ass?" Leaning back, I crossed my arms and licked my dry lips. My mouth was numb – a fair sign I was justifiably drunk. While the liquor had removed the filter on my tongue, it had also dulled the sense of trepidation I'd had towards Hiei. I tilted my head to look at him with a curious gaze. "What are you, anyway?"

"A demon." He set the bottle down in front of his legs again. "Are you truly that drunk that you forgot?"

A very unladylike snort escaped me as I rolled my eyes. "I know you're a fucking demon, jackass, but what race? You said you weren't animalistic before."

He blinked at me, trying to remember our conversation before. I attempted to take advantage of his distraction and lunged forward to grab the bottle placed in front of his legs. I was halted as Hiei's hand reached out to latch onto my wrist and push me back on my rump.

The intense heat rolling from the palm of Hiei's hand should have worried me profusely, and, had I been in a sober state, I more than likely would have panicked. Instead, I found my jaw had gone slack as the space between his palm and my wrist glowed a dim orange from what I assumed was the heat pouring from him.

As quickly as he had grabbed me, Hiei released me. His bow was furrowed in frustration and confusion as I brought my wrist close to my face to examine it. I expected to find blisters, if not at least one large one in the shape of the male's hand. What I did not expect to find the imprint of Hiei's hand was fading quickly, no burns, blisters, or scorches of heat anywhere on my skin. My wrist was a bit red from where he had gripped me so tightly, but I had no marks from the heat.

"Fire." Hiei's quiet comment had my eyes flashing up to him, as he settled back down on his backside. Instead of crossing his legs again, though, he kept one leg bent and pulled towards his chest. His expression wasn't negative, merely curious. "I am fire."

"Oh…" I let my hand fall limply back on my lap as I met his gaze. "I suppose I'm fire proof, then."

He scoffed and the corner of his lips quirked up in a half hidden smirk. He shook his head and reached for the bottle again.

This was the first real moment I had to truly evaluate the demon. Hiei looked completely wild in comparison to his friends, especially the ever-composed Kurama. It felt as though his spirit was writing beneath the surface of his skin and would escape at any given moment. He was tan with slight olive undertones, and I noticed finally he wasn't wearing the cloak as he had earlier. His shirt was loose and without sleeves. Although the man was a fair five foot four, he maintained a fairly muscled physique. The lack of arm coverings showed off the tense muscles in his biceps and triceps, leading in to what I could see were impressive pectorals. My imagination assumed the remainder of his torso was equally as cut.

The spiked hair adorning his head was to the point of deep black it very nearly looked blue when the light caught it. There were streaks of white at the front which I had originally taken as a bad dye job, although upon my closer inspection appeared more so like the natural signs of aging. Perhaps he was older than I realized. A plain white piece of cloth was tied around his forehead and I wondered if it served some other purpose than decoration.

High cheekbones and thin, but nice, lips were set on his angular face. His jawline was sharp, leading to a stubborn chin. His eyes, although slightly narrowed at me at the moment, were decorated with long lashes and were just slightly larger than a human's. In the dim lighting of the kitchen, the color of his eyes reminded me of merlot wine, the deep red blending in to the black of his pupil. I knew in the daylight they would appear as more of a rip currant, as I had originally seen when we first met.

All in all, I had to admit Hiei was a very attractive male. I tilted my head as I let a soft smile slip. "Has anyone every told you just how stunning your eyes are?"

The eyes in question widened suddenly as his dark eyebrows snapped together in a frown. "You are drunk.

A bark of laughter escaped me as I threw my head back, waving a hand at him and dismissing the comment. "Obviously, but that's not the point." Bringing my gaze back down, I looked him square in the eyes, finding he stared back in both interest and frustration. "Has anyone ever told you?"

Hiei scoffed and shook his head slightly. "No, no one has ever told me my eyes were… _stunning_." He let the word drag out of his mouth, dripping with disgust.

My nose twitched and I reached up to scratch it. "People should really tell you that more often." I could feel my mouth moving and my voice box working in synch, but I could not control the words as they began to fly from my mouth at top speed. "I mean, I'm sure most people relate the color to rubies but since we're drinking I'm seeing them as more of a wine color. Although, I do understand the ruby descriptor, gemstones draw you in and your color is nearly magnetic –"

"Has anyone ever told you to shut up?" Hiei growled out at me, his teeth ground together as a muscle in his jaw twitched.

My teeth clacked as my mouth snapped shut. I shrugged and scratched my nose again guiltily. "Uh, no… I don't usually talk this much."

Hiei sat back and rolled his eyes, grabbing the bottle of liquor again. "Lucky me." The words ground out between his teeth before he tipped the bottle back and took the last of the amber liquid. When his eyes found me again, I thought I may have even had tears swimming in my eyes as I pouted for the lack of drink. My plan had been for _me_ to get drunk (which I had succeeded in), but I was still able to have coherent thoughts – that was _not_ what I wanted.

"Lucky you." I grumbled quietly as my eyes dropped to the empty bottle still held in Hiei's hand. Lucky, indeed. I was suddenly very angry with the fire demon – why'd he have to follow me down here? I could have been deep into the bottle on my own by this point and absolutely forget any rational thought or feeling if I'd been able to drink to my dark little heart's desire. Why, of all people, did _Hiei_ have to be here? "Why are you such a fucking dick?"

The words seethed from my mouth venomously. I watched as his head tilted to the side and an eyebrow quirked up. "Is this because I drank your alcohol?" His lips were turned upwards in a smirk, the bastard.

"No, this is because you have been nothing but mean to me – even when you and the rest of the boy band showed up in that warehouse!"

His smirk quickly turned into a deep scowl. "Would you rather us have left you there to die?"

I threw my hands down in my lap. The alcohol was still rolling in my stomach and I could feel my words becoming slurred. "I would rather you act like a decent person. You basically attacked me earlier even though I had no idea what I was doing! I am already at the lowest I can go! I am alone in this world, Hiei, and you just keep piling on the insults! What kind of _man_ does that?!" I was nearly screaming at him by the end of my rant, but I was so angry with the way he was treating me. Truly, I was alone here – I knew nothing of my kin and those I did know in this world were nothing but the shell of a life I had created to hide in. My teeth were bared and I was breathing heavily from my outburst.

I chose the wrong words, it seemed, as Hiei's expression had morphed from just a scowl to one of pure rage. Moving faster than my addled mind could comprehend, he was crouched over me. His right fist had smashed into the cabinet beside my head with a resounding 'thud' followed by sharp cracks of the wood. His own fangs were bared as he snarled, the sound coming from deep in his chest. "What kind of _dragon_ chooses to live in the skin of a _human_?"

The corners of my upper lip twitched and curled back as I stared into the red eyes of the fire demon before me. He had invaded my personal space, leaving bare inches between our faces as he voiced his disgust. I opened my mouth to scream my anger, but I was cut off by a pulse of energy pulling at my senses.

It was almost like a call – a distinct demand to turn and look. My eyes watered as the energy washed over me and my gaze drifted from Hiei's close face down to the shoulder of the arm pressed into the cabinet. My breath was caught in my chest and I could only take shallow inhales. I let my eyes drift from his shoulder, to bicep, resting finally on his forearm. The dark lines of a tattoo were contrast on his tanned skin, wrapping around his forearm to end on the back of the fist smashed into the cabinet a scant inch from my head.

The head of the tattoo stared back at me without eyes – a dragon of darkness was stained into the skin of this demon. The energy emanating from the ink itself was a myriad of black and purple swirling beneath his skin. In my eyes, the image of the dragon vibrated as I heard the call again and my heart clenched.

My eyes had widened in disbelief and I turned back to the fire demon who loomed over me. Grief washed over me and my mouth opened slightly as I tried to form the words to describe what exactly was running through my mind.

"What dragon _chooses_ to live in the skin of another demon?" My voice cracked as I voiced my question. Although my knowledge of my own species was limited at the moment, I knew the dragon held beneath the skin of this man had been denied his respite.

Hiei's snarl had disappeared, his expression stoic as his eyes roamed my face. He recognized the grief as it overtook me and it confused him. He stayed in his crouched position over me for a few moments longer as he regarded my reaction. Finally, he leaned back away from me slowly to return to the position he'd occupied a few moments before.

We were silent and I contemplated my reaction. I wasn't completely sure on the reasoning behind my sadness, but I was confident the amount of alcohol in my system had heightened the emotion. Thankfully the alcohol had already begun to do the opposite and dull the grief as it took hold. My lips and appendages were still numb as my consciousness was following suit.

I reached up to rub my face with my hand. "I need more liquor." My short mumble caused Hiei to snort and I glanced over at him. His head shook as he made to rise to his feet.

"Go to bed, woman."

The effects of the alcohol had hit me. My thoughts were jumbled as my vision grew hazy at the edges. Glancing down at my feet, I briefly wondered if I could get them to cooperate if the rest of my body felt numb. "…I'm drunk."

Hiei stared down at me blankly for a short moment. I turned away, my cheeks burning with embarrassment. Was I going to have to explain it to him?

"You can't get up, can you?" I could hear that damn smug smirk as it spread across his face. I growled a low warning at him, but shrugged in response. I counted my lucky stars, in the very least, he wasn't laughing at me. Instead, I watched from the corner of my eye as he trudged over next to me and placed a hot hand under my triceps. I gave a short 'gah!' of surprise as he hauled me suddenly upright. He immediately released me and I swayed slightly. "Are you even capable of walking?"

His stupid eyebrow was raised in my direction again. I wanted to reach over and push the damn thing back down into the scowl I was so used to seeing. I pursed my lips and shook my head shortly. Hiei rolled those ridiculous wine red eyes at me before stepping forward to grab my arm and bend down.

"Dammit, don't you dare – _put me down!_ " I snarled at the fire demon as he swiftly hoisted me over his shoulder, sending my vision whirling. I was dizzy for a good thirty seconds before the floor beneath me stopped spinning in circles. By then Hiei had already exited the kitchen and was walking down the hallway.

"Keep quiet." Hiei's own voice was lower than usual. "Don't wake the whole temple." My stomach was pressed into his shoulder and his arm was hooked over the back of my thighs to keep me from topping over his back. I squirmed uncomfortably in his grasp – I didn't care to be carried like a sack of flour. Frankly, I didn't care to be carried at all!

I huffed and sulked as Hiei trudged back to the other side of the building where my room was located. Thankfully, he was walking at a normal pace. Had he used the speed I knew he was capable of, I would have lost the contents of my stomach. I watched his feet as we made our way back; his stride was even and never broke rhythm.

"You're kind of strong, aren't you?" My voice was muffled as I spoke against his back. I felt his shoulders tremble from a restrained chuckle.

"If you are concerned you are too heavy, I am having no issues carrying you."

"I wasn't until you said something!" I squirmed again on his shoulder. Hiei growled low with a quick 'be still!' at me. I growled right back at him, but settled down. The ground was spinning again. Only a few moments later I started to recognize the hallways near my room. As we reached my door, he set me down and allowed me to slide off his shoulder.

My knees buckled as I attempted to rise back to a vertical position, one hand reaching up to the clutch my head and the other grasped Hiei's shoulder to keep me standing. His own hand was under my elbow, holding me steady. He frowned and rolled his eyes at my drunkenness. I frowned right back at him as I noticed the edge of my vision was growing black.

I blinked my eyes furiously up at him, attempting to clear my vision. "Think you can handle yourself, woman?"

I giggled at him – giggled! Oh, I was _so drunk_. This had been a terrible idea. Who had thought it would be beneficial to get drunk, especially in the presence of the sullen fire demon? Oh, right… me. Shit. "What, not gonna tuck me in?" My sarcastic words were heavily slurred and I shook my head to focus. The world was so blurry.

I heard Hiei sigh wearily. "Go to sleep."

Dropping my hand from my head, I reached out to poke him in the chest. "Make me."

"I could." There was the barest hint of a smirk. Smug bastard.

I met his eyes as best I could with the effects of the alcohol. While the edges of my vision were black, I still expected Hiei to be clear as day since he was directly in front of me. Instead, the entirety of his body was blurry around the edges. The area around him was as clear as I would get, but Hiei himself was hazy to say the least. The white strip of cloth on his forehead was even more so blurred than anything else in my vision.

I brought my finger back from his chest and pointed at my own forehead. "Yeah, yeah, just 'cause your stupid eye thing could."

A heavy silence fell between us before his hand, which had just merely gripped me for balance, tightened around my arm painfully. My brow furrowed as I gave a low whine and a short 'ow.' Hiei tugged me closer as he leaned over me, his face far too close to mine yet again. "How do you know about that?" His voice was deadly quiet as he spoke through his teeth.

I whined again and tugged at my arm. If he was going to get all grabby, then he could just forget about tucking me in! And I was going to let him. Asshole. "It's the only… the only thing that makes it hard to see. I can't _see_ you, Hiei."

Hiei's brow furrowed so deeply in confusion I worried if his face would be stuck permanently. I smiled at the thought and giggled again. _So_ drunk. I tried tugging my arm back from him again, this time his grip loosening as he stood straight. He continued to stare at me in confusion, but I gave a throaty laugh at his expression as I stepped back, grabbing on to my door for support.

"Thanks for the drink, _fire_ demon." I shoved the door to the side and stepped backwards into my room. I was feeling super good now – hooray for alcohol! "Wasn't a bad first date, ya know? Mmk, g'night!"

I snapped the door shut in Hiei's still shocked face and wandered back over to my futon. I laughed at the situation – what I could comprehend, anyway. The bewildered expression plastered to his face was worth not being able to finish off the bottle. My thoughts centered around the fire demon as I allowed the alcohol to take me into a, thankfully, dreamless slumber.

Not a bad first date, indeed.

* * *

 **Author's Note:** I'm a couple days early! Aren't you proud of me? So, it may be mostly because I write this story at my work and I have a three day weekend coming up. Plus I hate my home computer, so uploading takes forever and a day with that one.

I really didn't mean for this chapter to get so long, but cutting it into two separate chapters was just not going to work for me. Did you all not dig the last chapter very much? There were lots of views but only 2 reviews – sad panda. Please let me know how I'm doing and if you like the story! I want to make sure it's coherent and at least a little interesting for you.

Also, if you haven't done so already, please take the poll on my profile as it will help me flesh out some of the later parts of this story. Thank you for reading!

 **Update** – I noticed a lot of little mistakes throughout, so I redid this chapter just a bit; phrasing and deleting a word here or there – nothing too crazy. If anyone wants to be a beta for this, let me know!


	8. Eight

_The Coffee Shoppe was quiet for once on a Saturday afternoon. I was, as usual, catching up on my reading in the plush seat of the corner of the store. Already on my third mug of chai, I was attempting to dive into my newest novel I'd discovered at the local Barnes and Noble. I say 'attempting' as it was becoming more and more difficult due to the dramatic sighing coming from the dark haired man in the chair set diagonal from mine._

 _Giving my own sigh and conceding to give up on my book, I slapped the pages closed on my leg and turned to Clayton to tell him off for interrupting my literary time. Unfortunately, before I could even open my mouth, he was already speaking in double time._

" _Good grief, you read too much when you're here. Haven't you ever heard of enjoying someone else's company? I know you get attached to the characters in those stories, but I am right here!" The lanky man spoke with his hands, arms flailing as he indicated himself. I tried my hardest not to let a smile crack as he sighed heavily and shook his head. "Back in my day, people respected their elders! Ah, the good ol' days…I remember when this was all farmland as far as the eye could see. Old man Peabody owned all of this. He had this crazy idea about breeding pine trees."_

 _My own brown eyes furrowed to glare at him, but my lips betrayed me as the corners twisted upwards in an amused smirk. "Don't try to get sympathy points from me by throwing some Doc Brown out there. It's not fair."_

 _Clayton set back in the chair, grinning widely. "But you stop pretending to be mad at me when I do."_

 _Rolling my eyes, I set the book on the side table placed next to my chair. He was getting his way, and it irked me – but only slightly. It was hard to stay mad at Clayton for long. "Alright, Clay, you have my attention." My smile softened as I shook my head gently at him. "And I guess you're off work now, so what's new?"_

 _Kicking his feet up on a coffee table, he relaxed farther back into the chair. I finally noticed he had removed the typical barista apron I usually saw him in – he was hanging around after his shift just to talk to me. "I splurged and got five – count em! – five new games I am dying to play."_

" _Good sale?"_

" _Great sale! All praise the gamer gods!" We both chuckled at that. I pulled my legs up under me, leaving the loose ballet flats on the floor – I basically lived in the Coffee Shoppe so I made myself comfortable. "Oh, and I got really bored so I redecorated my living room. I have a life sized Boba Fett and a Han-Solo-in-carbonite shoe mat now."_

 _I nodded appreciatively. "Your geek-dom is growing."_

" _I know!" He was nearly squealing with excitement. "You could come see it sometime, my memorabilia puts yours to shame!"_

 _Ignoring the invitation to his home, I rolled my eyes at him once again. "Considering I've absolutely no memorabilia to speak of, I'm positive you'd win that contest." I rolled my shoulders and shifted to a more comfortable position in my chair. "So weren't you going to tell me about the convention last weekend?"_

" _Gah! How could I have forgotten?!" Clayton threw his hands up in the air and leaned forward on the edge of his seat to explain just exactly how every single minute of his weekend had gone, namely the cosplay he'd chosen from a comic book I'd never heard of and the other characters his friends had gone with. He was so excited and animated in his recap, I couldn't help the side-splitting laughter that tore from me as he continued._

 _Clayton was so much fun to be around; he could always get me to crack at least a smile on a bad day…_

* * *

Mercifully, I woke to find my body laying stomach down on the futon. Groaning, the sensation of a throbbing headache pierced my consciousness. I shouldn't have been surprised from the pain, considering my memory of the previous night consisted of very little other the bottle of whisky.

I did remember the dream, or rather the memory, I'd woken up from and I couldn't decide which was worse – reliving the terror Clayton had inflicted upon me or reviving the moments in which I trusted him as my friend.

Pushing myself up on to my elbows, I found that the blanket had tangled around me in a tight cocoon of plush. I was grateful for it a moment later, though, as I discovered I was completely devoid of clothing. I began to hope fervently that I had undressed myself with no witnesses.

In all honesty, I did not remember coming back to the room. All I could recall was drinking straight from the bottle and being bothered by…

 _Hiei_. Oh, shit – why had he come with me? Why had he stayed? And for all that was good and holy, why the _fuck_ was I _naked_?

Glancing around slowly as not to aggravate the already angry headache clawing at my skull, I discovered my pile of worn clothing directly to the side of the futon. I must have disrobed before climbing into bed – thank heavens. Gently untangling myself from the wrapping of blankets, I reached for my dirty clothes and winced as a wave of nausea hit me.

It took the next ten minutes of willing my stomach to settle and pulling on my clothes piece by piece to finally get dressed and on my feet. Digging through the limited memories of the night before, I knew I'd gone to the kitchen with Hiei leading me, discovered the bottle I'd been searching for, and proceeded to drink as much as I could stomach in one sitting. There were a few fuzzy bits I couldn't quite piece together, but I did recall Hiei gripping my wrist harshly. Inspecting the delicate skin, I couldn't find any marks to show if he'd injured me. As for the rest of the night, most everything else was blurry and swam together in one large lump of intoxication. I let out another long, exaggerated groan as I realized I had drunk _far_ too much if I couldn't even recall half the night. _Bad Ria._

Mentally shaking myself (because physically doing so would have made me hurl), I made my way to the door and peeked outside. Hiei was still stationed as my guard and was leaning against the opposite wall with his eyes closed. Thankfully, the temple was still dark given the fair lack of windows. As I pushed the door farther open, one red eye cracked to observe me. He opened his eyes fully as stepped out of the room.

"It lives."

I glared at the male; my headache had given me a general distaste for, well, everything currently. "Bathroom."

He raised an eyebrow and jerked his head down the hall, but I continued to look at him expectedly. Scoffing, Hiei shoved off the wall and began walking in the direction of the bathroom. My blurred vision caught the difference in his appearance – he was wearing the tank top again as he had last night, but his right arm was wrapped in in bandages from his hand up to mid bicep. Although I didn't recall him injuring himself or having need of bandages the night before, I couldn't exactly trust my memory at the moment. I followed him as quickly as I could without losing what little contents I had in my stomach.

As soon as we reached the door, I froze – Yukina had had to watch me previously. What the hell was going to happen now? "You are not watching me shower."

Hiei fixed me with an exasperated stare as he pushed the door open for me. "Don't be stupid." I sidestepped past him, glaring at him suspiciously as he matched my gaze. Stepping fully into the bathroom, I made to turn away from him and find a clean towel. "I will cut your head off if you do not behave."

The door now shut behind me, I frowned at the man on the other side. I contemplated sticking my tongue out at him, but I refrained. Shedding my dirty clothes, I set them on the bench so I could dress in them afterwards. Of course I hadn't thought ahead to grab an extra set, instead focusing on relieving the pressure on my bladder and succumbing to the overwhelming need to shower.

I hoped the hot water would relieve my throbbing headache, but I wasn't so lucky this time. It was slow going to clean myself, stopping occasionally as a wave of nausea would hit. I took extra time in front of the sink with a comb as I untangled my hair. As the steam cleared from the mirror above the sink, my stomach flipped to the point I had to swallow the bile as it rose in my throat.

Before, I had only seen my new appearance in a small compact. I could now see the entirety of my face for all its changes. Although my hair was drying, it was still several shades lighter than my previous warm brown and even had less wave in the strands. There was more gold in my eyes than the last time I had looked. Although my skin was far smoother than I was used to, at least my face had the decency to keep the dark circles under my eyes from my night of drinking.

As I turned my head side to side, I noted the shape of my face felt… off. My cheekbones were more defined and the bridge of my nose had healed; I'd run face first into a door and cracked it first year of college. I shouldn't have been surprised – I sincerely doubted a Great Dragon looked like little old human Ria. All the same, my stomach continued to do flips as I combed through my hair.

When I met Hiei outside the door again, I was in an even worse mood than I had gone in with. This time, I knew where I was going – instead of letting Hiei lead, I stepped past him and back to the room without looking back at the demon. When I reached the space, I snapped the door shut behind me and ignored him.

The hangover had quickly reached the point where Hiei's mere presence pissed me off. I pulled off my dirty clothes as quickly as I could and moved to pull on a pair of gray pants and a dark blue long-sleeved shirt. My hair was drying quickly, so I left it down. Pulling it back would have put too much pressure on my poor scalp. I contemplated grabbing the hair tie and keeping it with me just in case, but I refrained. When I was properly dressed, I took a deep breath to calm myself. I stepped to the door and opened it to find Hiei already waiting directly outside, a frown plastered to his face.

"Are you going to be like this all day?" He sneered as me as I leaned against the door frame. He stepped back to give us both more space.

"Yes." Pinching the bridge of my nose, I felt for the bumps that spoke of the break but it was smooth as if nothing had happened. "Take me to food… please." I nearly forgot any semblance of manners until I saw Hiei's eyes narrow. He rolled said eyes at me before taking off down the hall. I followed as quickly as I could, fighting waves of nausea.

When we reached the kitchen, Yukina was at the sink. At least, I assumed the greenish shade of hair was the girl as I immediately shielded my eyes from the assault of daylight streaming in through a window on the back wall. It took me several tries to get my eyes to open in the harsh light. Yukina had turned briefly to see who had joined her, a soft smile on her face, but the moment she saw me the dishes were suddenly forgot and she hurried to dry her hands.

"Miss Ria, I'm very glad you have come out of your room! I'm afraid I have put breakfast away, though I could get you a bowl of miso." I nodded gingerly at her, lowering myself into a chair next to the kitchen table, still blinking quickly at the light. The room was fairly modern compared to the rest of the temple, given the window and eat-in table and chairs. I had missed the details last night. Yukina saw me wincing and rushed over to me. "Are you alright?"

I waved her off as she attempted to dote on me and I could feel Hiei's glare boring into the back of my skull from attempting to dismiss the young woman. "I'm just hungover, Yukina – please stop shouting."

Mint green hair shifted as her head shook. "Oh, but I'm not –" I winced again at her voice. Why did it have to sound like a screech now when I knew she had the sweetest voice? Damn alcohol. Yukina's voice dropped to a whisper when she spoke next. "Allow me?"

Suddenly, her exquisitely cold hands were pressed against my temples. I nearly cried out from the euphoric state she sent pulsing into my skull. With each passing second of her energy passing through her fingertips, my aches and nausea faded considerably. After a moment she pulled away and I was left with a simple dull ache at the base of my skull and a dry mouth – my pain had dropped from an 8 down to a 2 in just a few seconds.

"Oh, you are a goddess, Yukina." I mumbled when she stepped back. Rubbing my eyes with the base of my palms, I heard the small girl giggle at my comment.

"I am _youkai_ , not a goddess, Miss Ria." Peeking from my behind my hands at the young woman, I gave her a wry smile. She stepped around the table and back to the kitchen appliances. "I'll get you some miso."

I blinked a few times to rid my eyes of the exhaustion from the hangover, which was all but gone now, and noticed the daylight coming in through the window was tolerable. "Goddess, angel, saint… Nice lady. I don't care, pick. You're one of them." I glanced over my shoulder at Hiei, who shrugged in response before leaning back against the wall with his arms crossed. Turning back to the table I no longer needed to ground myself to the earth with, I noticed Yukina had already placed a bowl of miso in front of me.

"Oh, _itadakimasu_!" I was grateful I had at least retained one manner before I grabbed the bowl and began so ingest the liquid as fast as my throat and stomach would allow. I could hear the other woman's giggle as she informed Hiei she would fetch Genkai and would be back shortly for tea.

The moment she left, Hiei rounded the table to take a seat across from me. I avoided looking at the male, enjoying actually having an appetite for once. Unfortunately, the intensity of his gaze was difficult to ignore. As I set the empty bowl down, I met his eyes to find them narrowed at me (as per usual), but his expression appeared to be more quizzical than suspicious.

Opening my mouth to question him, he cut me off with an answer. "Foreigners do not typically know the _ningen_ culture here."

Slowly closing my mouth, I realized he was speaking of my one manner that had not abandoned me. However, thinking it over now, I remembered I'd grown up in the States as a human. American culture typically did not call for a 'thanks' before meals, although there were religious implications that called for saying a 'grace' beforehand. My adoptive parents were not inclined to do so.

"I think it's like knowing more than one language – there are many different cultures I've learned. But I couldn't tell you how. It's come back to me like… like muscle memory." I frowned deeply, my appetite disappearing. Glancing back up to Hiei, I was sure he would just be frustrated with my answer, or lack thereof. However, as I met his red gaze, a flash of memory from the night before made itself known. "Hey! You're a fire demon!"

Instead of frustration, Hiei's expression turned to one of annoyance as he rolled his eyes. "I assumed I made that fact clear last night."

My lips twitched as heat bloomed over my cheeks. I attempted to find something other than Hiei's red eyes for my own gaze to focus on. The empty bowl in front of me was my best choice and I wrung my hands as I contemplated telling Hiei the truth. "I, uh… I don't remember much from last night."

When I glanced up at him that god damn eyebrow was raised again, coupled with a haughty smirk that I sincerely despised in that instant. He was going to mock me, or at least he had already begun to in his head. I glared at him, the corner of my lip lifting in a silent snarl.

"I attempted to burn your hand off." My snarl faded as he confessed exactly _how_ he'd shown he was a fire demon. My glare became one of annoyance instead of anger.

"Gee, thanks, asshole." Grumbling at him, I sat back in my chair, arms crossing in front of me. I noticed I was now in the same position Hiei was opposite me. "You could have just told me."

"I did… after trying to burn your hand off. Apparently, you are fireproof."

A loud chortle escaped my lips at that. "Are you surprised at that? I am a dragon."

Hiei's eyes rolled again at me. I secretly hoped one day they'd become stuck with how many times I'd received that reaction. "You said not to assume you were a _fire_ dragon."

I shrugged in response as I shifted forward to pull one of my legs up under me. In truth, I was unsure of what my nature was, but I retained the innate sense dragons, especially the Great Dragons, were not limited to the abilities of flame.

Hiei scoffed at me as he looked out the window. "If you do not remember so much from last night, perhaps you should refrain from drinking so heavily again."

A smile broke on my face as I relaxed into my chair, turning my neck to work the soreness out. "Half an hour ago, I would have told you to fuck off and never let me near the devil's nectar again."

"And now?" Hiei voice was arrogant, threatening to laugh at me any moment.

Clasping my hands in front of me and batting my eyes, I smiled sweetly at the fire demon. "If I will be around Yukina the following morning, I will drink _so_ much more than I did last night." My smile faded as I rounded a glare on him. "That is, if _someone_ doesn't steal half the bottle again."

A smirk played at the corner of Hiei's lips as he turned back to me. "I would not advise it. Your tongue loosens when you become inebriated."

"…it does?" This was news to me. Of course, if I recalled any of the last time I had been so intoxicated, I was alone in my home after my parents had died. I'd drank the bottle alone and I'd had to deal with the repercussions _alone_.

Hiei fixed me with a blank stare. "Do you recall anything you said?"

"I remember asking if you were trying to get that stick out of your ass, but nothing after that."

His eyes narrowed momentarily, but the smirk was back an instant later. "You called my eyes 'stunning.'"

My eyes widened a bit as I stared at the male. "Shut the fuck up."

I would have never, even on my best day, have admitted to an attractive man such as Hiei that I found any part of his anatomy appealing – _never_. I was not one to have the confidence to compliment someone of the opposite sex on their appearance, unless it was someone like Garrett and commenting on the tie he'd picked out for the day. Absolutely forget calling a man's eyes stunning… And when did I suddenly find Hiei, the man who couldn't go one full sentence without insulting someone, attractive? Damn the pull of a bad boy attitude.

As I stared up at the fire demon, I did realize his eyes in the daylight were a bright shade of currant red. And they were, indeed, stunning in an otherworldly sense. _Bad drunk Ria!_

I could tell Hiei was enjoying my internal struggled with my compliments to his appearance as his smirk grew wider. "You also called it our 'first date.'"

My head slammed down on the table and I threw my arms over it. I wanted to crawl back to the futon, burrow myself into the covers, and die of embarrassment. Why did I have to say all the wrong things when I was drunk? I avoided having more than just a few glasses of wine for that reason! "Just kill me now."

A low chuckle resonated through the kitchen. "Not in the mood." Hiei's amusement was evident in his tone, but I wanted nothing more than to wipe the smirk from his face.

Genkai and Yukina chose at that moment to walk into the kitchen. Yukina rushed over to me and I felt her cool hands through my shirt as she placed them on my arm. "Miss Ria, I thought you were better when I left! Is something wrong?"

I reached up a hand to pat the young woman on the head and made to sit up straight. I'm sure my face was a bright as a tomato – or as red as Hiei's freaking 'stunning' eyes. _Damn_. "Don't worry, Yukina, I'm just dying of embarrassment."

Yukina's own red eyes were staring down at me worriedly and I had to admire her shade for a moment, as well. Where Hiei's eyes were a deep scarlet, Yukina's were a bright candy apple red. Had I met them before I'd gained even a glimmer of my past, I would have assumed all demons had red eyes.

Genkai walked past us on her way to make tea. "I heard you had an interesting night."

My head snapped over to the old woman, and then back to Hiei who smiled smugly. "Watching a murderer get drunk on your liquor did provide some entertainment."

I growled at him as Yukina held her hand over her mouth to stifle a chuckle, moving around the table to help Genkai with the tea. The corner of my lip twitched in agitation. " _Alleged_ murderer, asshole."

"She did maintain she was innocent throughout her drunkenness." Hiei's face was serious as he turned to Genkai, her kettle of water settled over the stove. She nodded once in response and glanced over her shoulder at me.

"She's either telling the truth, or she's a very impressive liar."

My jaw had dropped open. Had Hiei stuck around my inebriated self just to see if I would confess to murdering Kotomaru? If I didn't already regret telling him how stunning his eyes were, I certainly regretted telling the conniving fire demon anything even slightly complimentary now. Crossing my arms and hunching over my lap, I began grumbling under my breath, "See if I ever share my alcohol with you again. 'First date,' my ass. Won't ever be a second date, I can guarantee _that_."

Genkai sighed as she waited for the water to boil. "Keep your blossoming romance to a minimum. I might be sick."

A rumble escaped my throat as my lips curled back to bare my fangs at the older woman. Across from me, Hiei had turned to glare at her, as well. "Don't encourage her delusions."

My growl turned suddenly into a snarl as I rounded my anger on the fire demon. "Fuck off, prick!" Hands curled into fists, my claws dug into the soft tissue of my palms as I tried to quell my frustration. Hiei did not turn to acknowledge my reaction, but I could see the corner of his lip twitch.

I curled back into my frustrated stance, arms crossed and back hunched. Yukina chuckled lightly next to Genkai and I made a mental note that Yukina would not be taking my side on this argument. Damn.

Genkai waved off Hiei's retort and turned back to me finally. "We've had some time while you wallowed in your pity to discuss your… mess of a life." I scowled up at her, but said nothing and indicated for to continue with a motion of my hand. "Koenma is still researching your case, although Kurama remains a staunch supporter of your innocence. Yusuke has also taken a liking to you, since you have been so kind to Yukina. And you still maintain you are not guilty, even under the effects of some of my best whisky, so I am inclined to agree."

I blinked briefly up at her – maybe staying in my room wasn't the worst idea ever. Glancing over at Yukina, she smiled gently at me before turning back to the kettle on the stove. I probably had the ice maiden to thank – she had taken me as an unofficial patient and had probably told Genkai everything from our nearly one-sided conversations.

"So, are you going to wallow in your pity for another week?" Genkai's lips were turned upward in a smirk. My scowl began to fade as I realized she was of the nature to mock those she actually cared about.

"…no. And in my defense, it was only five days." I sat up straight finally, hoping I was going to be given even a speck of a chance. Genkai closed her eyes and nodded before turning to Yukina.

"Yukina, you two can take your tea to the central garden. It might be good for her to have some fresh air."

Cue the boiling of water in the kettle. Yukina smiled widely and rushed to place the small teapot on a tray I hadn't noticed before. There were several other tea cups placed on it and I momentarily wondered if Yukina could carry the weight of the tray, until she picked it up with absolutely no trouble and turned to me.

"If you'll follow me, Miss Ria." I nodded mutely to her, glancing at both Genkai and Hiei. Genkai was shaking her head at Yukina and Hiei was ignoring the both of us. I shrugged off my shock and lifted myself up. Following the slightly shorter girl, she led me down the hall and took a right down another long hall.

I happened to glance behind me as we turned the corner and caught a flash of red hair disappearing into the kitchen. Stopping short, I wondered if Kurama was purposely avoiding me this morning. "Yukina, I forgot something in the kitchen. Can you wait here for just a moment?"

She nodded, oblivious to my suspicions. I thanked her and rushed back around the corner as silently as I could. The walls were thin in the temple and I could hear the three of them talking before I even reached the door. I kept one hand on the wall as I inclined my ear towards their conversation.

"I know you have something to say, Hiei. Spit it out." Genkai's voice was muffled, but I could easily understand her words.

I could almost visualize Hiei's stance, his arms crossed and brow furrowed. He wasn't exactly unpredictable in his expressions. "While she maintains her innocence in killing the Red Dragon, something about her does not bode well."

"She _is_ a Great Dragon, Hiei." That was Kurama's soft voice, a smile coming through his tone. Why did he have to sound so comforting when I supposed to be mad at him?

"She knew of my Jagan."

There was a heavy silence that followed his declaration – shock, I would assume. I wouldn't know, due to the fact that I had absolutely no idea what the hell a Jagan was. And Hiei was saying I had recognized it?

Genkai was the first to speak. "Did she say that outright?"

"She was beyond intoxicated, but I threatened to make her sleep. She informed me she knew I could because of my 'stupid eye thing' and it made her hard to 'see' me." Hiei sounded slightly disappointed and I knew he was glowering. Unfortunately, the statements he was claiming I made were from the time of night I could not recollect for the life of me. Hiei didn't seem like the kind of man to lie about such statements, though.

"Perhaps we should inform Koenma." Kurama's voice was quieter – thoughtful.

"Something is waking up within her – she could sense the Dragon of the Darkness Flame." There was a scraping of the chair as Hiei stood. "She _accused_ me of trapping it within my skin."

Genkai chuckled lowly. "Well, you did absorb and contain it."

"Or perhaps she knows something of this particular dragon that we do not." Kurama just had to be the voice of reason – although, I had no way of knowing if he was correct or not. Currently, my memory of the night before was hazy; the memories of my past life were even more so.

"I suppose you could get her drunk again and drag it out of her, Hiei." Genkai was having far too much fun with this.

Kurama's chuckle was muffled; he was more than likely hiding it behind his hand. "Then I suppose you will have to get that second date."

I glowered at the kitsune through the door and Hiei growled in response. "Stop eavesdropping and do it yourself."

"I will go wake up the dimwit and see if he can get through to Koenma. I haven't had any luck contacting him." Genkai's voice was weary. I made a mental note to ask Yukina how old the aged woman really was. I suspected this was the end to the conversation so, carefully and cautiously, I made my way back around the corner before someone found me eavesdropping. Yukina was still waiting for me with the tray, the sweet girl.

"Did you find what you were looking for, Miss Ria?"

I rubbed the back of my head, guilt seeping in to me. I didn't like lying to her. "It was just a hair tie. I must have left it back in my room. I'll find it later."

She nodded and continued down the hall and I was left to my thoughts for a few moments. From what Hiei had divulged, my drunk self was far more aware of my dragon nature than my sober one. Unfortunately for my sober self, I couldn't remember what drunk me could. Confused? I sure as hell was.

I assumed Genkai believing I was innocent would have brought more peace and answers, not more questions and conflict.

* * *

Genkai left the kitchen in search of Yusuke; perhaps he could get in contact with Koenma through Botan. Kurama and Hiei remained in the kitchen for a few moments longer before glancing at the other. "She heard?" Kurama's voice was quiet, his airy voice dipping low as guilt tinged his words.

Hiei huffed, his arms crossed. There was a lift in the corner of his lips as he thought of the dragon and her lack of control. "She has no idea what her energy is doing. I doubt she could hide it even if she tried."

Kurama sighed and ran his fingers through the short hair of his bangs. "I suppose she needs to be trained."

The smile disappeared from Hiei's face and his brows drew together in suspicion. "Why are you so determined to keep this girl around? She is going to cause you nothing but trouble."

"She was my friend." Kurama sighed, his shoulders sagging and shook his head. The girl was going to be a handful, but she was now his responsibility – he had vouched for her.

Hiei scoffed and threw his hands into the deep pockets of his pants. "You have terrible choices in friends." One brow raised as he smirked at the red head. Kurama's lips twisted up in a smile.

"That _is_ the pot calling the kettle black, Hiei."

* * *

 **Author's Note:** I had to shorten this down considerably. When I began writing this chapter, I had about 3 other scenes planned for the entirety of Chapter 8, but they kind of exploded into a lot more than I wanted. So, you get this shortened chapter instead.

Time for some fun facts from Hannah!

1.) I hate the number eight. No idea why, but the number itself just does not sit well with me.

2.) Clayton is actually based off of someone I know. As far as I know, he is not a psychotic demon who kidnaps people for their powers. He is, however, a sociopath (as determined by a licensed therapist). The same day he told me he'd been evaluated as such he told me I was in his top 5 "people I won't kill – like MySpace, but creepy." To me, though, he is what I like to refer to as 'good people.' After my husband, he's probably the next person I'd call with an emergency.

3.) Talking with this friend about sociopathic tendencies, I realized that Hiei meets like… most of the criteria. But then again, so does Sherlock Holmes in BBC's _Sherlock_. "I'm not a psychopath, I'm a high-functioning sociopath; do your research." So, I may delve into that a little deeper…

4.) I have a Pinterest board that has images to fuel my writing inspiration for this story. You could probably find it pretty easily if you know where to look, but all I can say is "Spoilers!"

5.) I have an unhealthy obsession with Richard Armitage. I can't help it. Have you _seen_ him? Damn.

 **Responses:** I have seen several authors who reply to their reviewers in author's notes. Would this annoy you? I like it in some, hate it in others. I want to reply to all you lovely reviewers (namely Yo's Subordinate, Epic Skittles, MissLini, Ground-Cinnamon, Nevermorea, backoff22, lilnightmare17, and The Water Drinker) but I have this horrible habit of thinking of replying to you and then completely forgetting to actually type the response and sending it… This also happens in my text messaging skills. Yikes. I think I replied to everyone this time, but of course it was probably a few weeks after the original review… sorry.

Please follow, favorite, and review!


	9. Nine

Yukina led me to a serene courtyard in the temple and I took in a deep breath of fresh air dramatically. She giggled at me before settling on a spot just outside the door on the porch that wrapped all the way around the garden. Kneeling down, the small ice demon began preparing the tea for steeping, showing me her favorite leaves and what flavors were being released.

When we'd finally set down, chatting quietly about the smell of the tea and how clean the air felt here in comparison to the air of the metropolises I'd visited in the States, I was feeling a little run down. While Yukina was very adept at distracting me from my dark thoughts, it was difficult to completely ignore the nagging feeling I had at the back of my brain concerning the conversation I'd eavesdropped on.

Yukina suggested we relax in silence with our tea for a short time and I agreed, hoping to find some solace in a small part of meditation (when in Rome…). Unfortunately, I started fidgeting less than five minutes in. Yukina was the picture of perfect grace, quietly bringing her tea to her lips and knees bent under her. I was sitting cross legged and the muscles of my thighs itched with the need to move.

My mind was whirling a million miles per minute – wondering what I could do, how did I know about Hiei's Jagan, what the hell was going on with Kurama, what else had happened with Hiei last night, how did Yukina's healing abilities work, what was I capable of, how long would I stay here, how would I find out what Rihama had meant when she spoke of seals, could I break these seals, why were they there in the first place –

"Miss Ria?"

I jumped slightly at Yukina's quiet voice. My eyes, which I had been squeezing tightly closed, snapped open to focus on the ice maiden. She was looking at me worriedly.

"Are you well? Y-your energy… it feels like you will burst at any moment."

I opened my mouth to apologize, I wasn't even aware of what my energy had been doing in the slightest, but I was cut off as the door behind us snapped open to reveal a disheveled Yusuke and a curious Kurama behind him. Yusuke looked ready to spit fire.

"Calm your energy down, you dumbass! You're a beacon for bad shit!"

All at once, I felt my energy contract in on itself. Honestly, I wasn't mindful of it at all until it decided to react to the young male's bellowing demand. I shrank away from him and toppled onto my behind as I scrambled to place distance between us.

Kurama's hand reached out to clasp Yusuke on the shoulder, and Yusuke glanced back to find the kitsune's eyes narrowed at him. Brown eyes found me again and noted the way I'd attempted to get away. His brow softened and he raised his hands, fingers spread in the universal sign of showing he meant no harm.

After a moment, I allowed my muscles to relax and became all too aware of how tense I'd become at Yusuke's raised voice. He sighed heavily before letting a soft smile edge at his mouth. He reached up to ruffle his tousled bed-head, rubbing the back of his neck sheepishly. "Hey, I didn't mean to scare ya. I didn't realize you didn't know what you were doing."

Stepping forward, he crouched down next to me. I eyed him warily, but sat straight and apologized to Yukina for upsetting my tea; it had been flung back in my surprise. Yusuke plopped his behind down next to me and continued to stare at me with an expression of concentrated confusion. "I don't get how you can't feel your energy – it literally is a beacon."

I scrunched my nose at him, my lips twitched in agitation. "Up until a week ago, I didn't even realize energies existed." I'm sure my tone was snide, but unfortunately for the dark haired male my mood had gone downhill quickly. My irritation at his reaction to my apparent lack of control was evident in my clenched hands. While I hadn't been aware of my energy previously, now it was the only thing I could focus on.

Truly, it was a beacon. I could see the glow of it surrounding me in a haze. Yusuke, Kurama, and Yukina's energies buzzed at the edge of my vision, but I focused on the sharp lines of crackling energy wrapping around my appendages. It flexed, the jagged blue-white lines of it pulled haphazardly closer to me. It felt rough, ready to escape the messy confines I had subconsciously attempted to place on it.

Glancing over at Yusuke, I noticed his yellow energy was tinged with red as it hovered directly over his body. It was pulled in tightly to a condensed layer over him, its shape changing as he shifted like a second skin. I frowned and closed my eyes tightly, willing the bright lights of our energies to fade away.

"Ria." Kurama's gentle voice had me cracking one eye up at him. He moved to crouch near Yusuke, his gaze on me. His energy was a soft purple, hovering over his skin just as Yusuke's. I opened both eyes to look at him fully. "You need to relax with your awareness. You are tense – it is causing your energy to be erratic. You can see all of our energies clearly, correct?"

I nodded slowly at the kitsune. He smiled softly back at me.

"Yusuke, Yukina – would you please allow us some privacy? It would be easier for Ria to focus if there are not too many distractions."

Yusuke and Yukina agreed easily, Yukina hurrying to clean up the tea before Yusuke plucked it from her hands and ushered her back into the temple. As the door shut quietly behind them, I turned back to Kurama. He'd lowered himself into a cross legged sit just a few feet away from me. "Now, what do you remember about energy?"

I tried to push down my irritation and hurt directed at the red-haired man as he encouraged a discussion between us concerning energy. While I had the basic knowledge of the differences between demon energy and spirit energy, and how each person had their own unique energy like a fingerprint, Kurama had to remind me how it measures the strength of the person who wields it, though the control of said strength was a different item in itself. He noted my energy was potent, hence Yusuke's relation of it to a beacon. But, as we could both see, I had little to no control of the stuff. He, in turn, suggested I attempt to meditate to focus on control of my energy.

I shifted and mumbled, "I was _trying_ before…"

"I think you were doing it wrong, then." I glanced up to find a teasing smile threatening Kurama's lips, the corners of his eyes crinkling in amusement. There was nothing more I wanted in that moment than to tease him in return, but my mind stuck on his previous reactions to me. Instead, I frowned and looked down at my lap.

"You can stop pretending you trust me now." My voice was low and I felt hurt edge at my heart again. For half a moment, I had forgotten being here with Kurama, Yusuke, Yukina, and Genkai wasn't by choice.

A heavy silence hung over us and I felt my energy crackling over my arms. If he wasn't going to respond in the next ten seconds, I would have to excuse myself before getting caught up in my own thoughts again.

"I don't trust you." I nearly laughed out loud at Kurama's monotone response. At least it was out in the open now. "But I know you will not do anything born of ill will."

My brows snapped together was I looked back up at him. His face was relaxed, as was his seated stance as he observed me. "…you make no sense."

He sighed and reached up to brush his bangs from his eyes. "Rihama – "

" _Don't._ " The snarl in response to the name was nearly second nature. I wasn't her… not yet.

He frowned. " _Ria._ You **are** dangerous – you are a great dragon with few memories of the crime you're accused of and a lack of control over the potent energy that surrounds you. You could snap at any moment and leave destruction in your wake." I opened my mouth to respond that I could never do such a thing, but Kurama held his hand up to stop me. "I know you would not willingly do such. And I am well aware you are angry with me."

I crossed my arms and raised an eyebrow at the man – no shit, I was angry with him. But… he wasn't avoiding me, now. He was actually attempting to teach me something of value. Suddenly, I felt very sheepish in his presence. Ducking my head and looking away from him, I contemplated my words.

"I am angry with you… You realize you're the only familiar face to me, right? And from a life I didn't even know I had until a week ago." I could nearly taste the sympathy I assumed was coming from Kurama and heat rose to my face. "The only reason Koenma didn't arrest me on the spot was because of you. The only reason I'm in this place is you. _And_ the only reason Genkai believes me at all is because of you! But you can openly say you think I'm going to go off the rails?! And you still call me a friend?!"

My hands were shaking and my ears were burning with embarrassment and anger. I would have continued had Kurama no interrupted me. "Genkai doesn't believe me – she believes you."

"…sorry, what?" I had to blink several times, his word not quite resonating with me.

"Genkai is very good at reading people. Because your energy is so erratic, she couldn't get a lock on you. When you… decided to stay in your room – "

"You mean when I decided to throw a pity party." My nose scrunched up as I glanced back up at him. Let's not avoid the topic – I was well aware I'd brought it on myself.

"I was trying to be delicate on the subject." He smiled briefly at me. "When you were in your room, your energy lowered significantly and both Genkai and Yukina could see your obvious sincerity. They believe you, as I do."

My anger began to dissipate towards Kurama. Although he had vouched for me, I had (unknowingly) convinced Genkai of my innocence just by being... me. I chewed at my bottom lip for a moment, wincing as my sharp canines pricked at the delicate skin. He was attempting to explain the situation to me – and for that I was grateful, but as I opened my mouth to respond a shudder ran through my body as the hair on the back of my neck stood on end. A distinct buzzing sensation filled the back of my skull and my spine stiffened in response.

"Her emotions are reflected in her energy." I nearly jumped out of my skin as a low, gravelly voice filled my ears, the speaker no more than a foot behind me. The crackling blue-white energy I'd subconsciously been maintaining lashed out behind me to sizzle on the wood of the deck, leaving black char marks in the wood. I'd whipped my head around at the movement of my energy and at the sound of the voice, but the black blur was too fast for my energy to touch. Spinning back to face Kurama, I found the fire demon standing near him. His lip was curled up in what I assumed was disdain. "You were supposed to fix this."

"It takes time, Hiei. Scaring her so soon is counterproductive." Kurama frowned up at the dark-haired male. My heart rate had increased dramatically, and one of my hands hand reached up to splay against my chest.

"Stop doing that!" My voice was high-pitched squeak as I glared at Hiei. Turning back to the kitsune, my eyes were wide as I pleaded with him. "If you're going to 'fix' this, do it now – I've never done anything like that before." I pointed behind me at the black char marks.

Kurama's eyebrows raised, but instead of a bit of fear or dread I expected to see in his features, he looked to be more impressed than anything. He clapped his hands together and gave me a true smile. "Then let's begin."

* * *

The sun had begun to set when Kurama finally released me from what I had deemed as "Kurama's Introduction to Energy Control." Unfortunately, Kurama was not an easy instructor, nor did it help Hiei was constantly insulting whenever I was unable to perform a certain action Kurama had requested me to try. (I had no idea why Hiei had even stuck around in the first place...)

I was entirely exhausted – I had drained all my energy in my attempts to wrangle control of it. Kurama had pushed me to manipulate as much as I could at one time. When I felt I'd had the proper hold on my energy in one form, he'd demand another.

I did feel confident enough in what Kurama had called a 'short' lesson to restrain my energy to the point I wouldn't be leaving char marks around me anymore. Speaking of…

"Genkai is going to kill me." I was sprawled on my back, breathing heavily. The wood beneath me was warm from the effects of my energy being pushed and pulled around my body all afternoon, char marks scattered on the floor and walls nearest. I'd given up keeping myself in an upright seated position after Kurama had declared we were done for the day.

The redhead chuckled as he stood, his hands placed delicately in his pants pockets. Hiei stood next to him in a similar fashion, although his hands were shoved deep in what I assumed were pockets of his loose black pants. The fire demon's eyebrow was quirked at me… again. I was so exhausted, though, I lacked the conviction to be truly irritated at him.

Kurama's soft, but positive, voice filled my ears as I stared at the ceiling of the overhang. "I think Genkai will forgive you as long as you make progress. Today was a good start – we'll resume tomorrow." I lifted a heavy arm to give him a thumbs up before letting the limb fall limply back beside me. I groaned and rolled to my side, curling into the fetal position. Kurama chuckled lightly as Hiei scoffed.

"Get up, go inside." Hiei's gruff voice was irritated. I moved my hand a bit, giving up just enough energy to move my fingers to give him a rude gesture. His lip curled back to bare his teeth. "Woman, you cannot stay out here all night."

"You underestimate my ability to be idle." My voice was groggy. The warm wood beneath me was beginning to cool as the sun set behind the temple, creating a very comfortable temperature for me to doze off in. "Besides, Kurama has made sure I had absolutely no energy left to stand. Didn't you, Kurama?"

Hiei sneered and turned to chastise the kitsune; unfortunately, he had decided to make himself scarce. I'd watched him quietly edge his way back into the temple as Hiei had had his attention on me. I nearly laughed as Hiei's jaw slacked and then quickly clamped down within a second as he realized Kurama had left us alone. Sneaky fox.

I groaned from the exertion of amusement. "Any chance you'll carry me back to my room?"

"No." I was getting used to Hiei's lip being curled back in a snarl, or I was far too tired to take his unspoken threat seriously.

The floor beneath me was getting more comfortable by the second. I was sure I would nod off any moment. "You carried me last night." The hazy memory came forward and I remembered his muscled shoulder underneath my stomach as he'd walked the hallways of the temple to avoid dealing with the fumbling idiot I'd been.

Hiei was silent for one moment. My eyes were half closed as I looked up at him, his red eyes already on me. I assumed I'd piqued his suspicion, since I'd told him previously I didn't remember much of last night. Honestly, I didn't – the memory was so hazy it could have been my drunk brain deciding to act on my supposed attraction to the fire demon. Taking back my words was obviously not going to happen, so I reassured him, "Or… did I dream that?"

And the smirk was back. "Dreaming about me already?"

An exaggerated sigh escaped me – sarcastic prick. I regretted even opening my mouth in his direction. I flapped a hand at him. "Yeah, yeah, you're hot and whatnot. Don't let it go to your head."

My loose hand was suddenly grasped in his hot palm as he yanked me from the ground and over his shoulder a matter of milliseconds. The world spun for a moment as Hiei made his way inside. I was so drained, I lay against his shoulder and back like a rag doll. We stayed silent as Hiei moved at a leisurely pace down the hall.

I should have talked. I should have asked him why he stuck around to help me control my energy when Kurama could have handled it on his own. I should have given him grief about caving and actually carrying me back to me room. I should have done a lot of things.

Instead, in my exhaustion-addled brain, I decided to contemplate the scents that assaulted my nose as I rested my cheek against the bottom portion of Hiei's shoulder blade – fire , dry and sharp with the slight tang of wood smoke. I wasn't surprised by it, truthfully; he _was_ a fire demon. It was the musky undertone of the smoke that intrigued me. A heady scent, specifically male, made my nose twitch as I refrained from pressing my nose into his shirt and inhaling to the point of impropriety. My sense of smell had been particularly sensitive beforehand, but this felt like a whole new level.

Hiei stopped suddenly and let me slip from his shoulder faster than I had expected. I latched onto his arm, my knees buckling underneath me as I was reminded exactly how tired I was. Hiei's scowl was plastered on his face as he gripped me and set me upright. "You are hopeless." His voice was a low growl, his teeth bared in frustration. I looked up at him, my eyes drooping with fatigue, and opened my mouth to apologize. I stopped when he stiffened under my hands and his nostrils flared. His head inclined towards me and I could hear the distinct sound of sniffing. "Your scent has changed."

"That's not creepy at all." Scrunching my nose, I released his arm and felt behind me for something else to regain my stability with. Apparently Hiei had been kind enough to drop me in front of my door again and I gripped at the frame to support my body. My legs were shaking from lack of energy as I turned around to open the door.

"Don't pretend you weren't _enjoying_ my scent, dragon." Hot breath ghosted over the side of my face and the shell of my ear, raising the hairs on the back of my neck. I could feel the goosebumps raising on my skin, making me all too aware of how close Hiei was behind me. My fingers gripped the door frame tightly to keep me steady, my knees buckling underneath me.

At the sound of scraping wood, my head jerked up and I found my claws had dug into the hard wood, leaving deep indents. I shook myself and removed my claws to reach forward and yank the door to the side. I'd hoped to turn around quickly enough to shut the door on Hiei, but the thought of the inviting futon was too strong. My jelly legs stumbled and I collapsed, thankfully, on the futon. Balling the blanket underneath my head, I snuggled my face into the blankets and sighed heavily. Hiei scoffed from his spot in the doorway and I cracked an eye open to look – if he wanted to be here so badly, he would just have to deal with me passing out.

I wanted to tell him off, and my mouth opened to do so, but the look on his face stopped me.

Well, not so much the look itself as the faint purple glow pulsing beneath the white band drawn tight across his forehead. I'd assumed the white band had been to hold his hair back or catch the sweat from whatever workouts he did to keep such defined muscles (I'd felt the shoulder and arm muscles just moments before – definitely defined). Obviously, I was wrong.

My head began to ache. At first, it was a faint tickle just behind my eyes, but it soon blossomed into a pressure surrounding the whole of my cranium. There was a slew of memories running across my consciousness – my early years with my adoptive parents, high school graduation, college studying days, a kiss that had been stolen from me during my senior year, the conversation with Rihama… the most recent memory was my face nearly pressed against Hiei's back as I tried my hardest not to rub my nose into his shoulder blade and inhale.

Cheeks burning with embarrassment, I bared my teeth – this _hurt._ I wanted to bang my head against the wall to relieve the pressure. Crying out, I buried my head deeper into the blankets.

As quickly as it had begun, the pain vanished from my mind. I was breathing heavily, and a light sheen of sweat had appeared on my skin. My mouth opened wide with a huge yawn, my eyes drifting closed at the release of tension in my psyche.

Hiei's low chuckle was faint in my ears. My eyes had drooped so low I could barely see his shape in the doorway. "So the dragon likes the smell of fire, hn?" His voice seethed between his teeth, tormenting me. I groaned and hid my face in my blankets. He chuckled again and I lifted my head to snap at him; what was this asshole laughing at?

A hot palm pressed gently against the back of my head and kept me down in the blankets. My eyes grew heavier and I struggled to stay conscious.

" _Sleep, dragon_." His low voice echoed in my head, pulling me down deep into unconsciousness.

* * *

 **Author's Note:** Yes, I know I'm late. Not apologizing – life gets in the way, in-laws invade your house, external auditors pay a visit for two weeks, and shit gets thrown out of whack. I'm here and only a few days behind! Please let me know if I'm being repetitive or boring in these chapters – unfortunately, the story needed the bit of filler from the last couple chapters before we jump into the actual good stuff. I'm sure they're kind of lame, but they are necessary to my style of writing.

Thank you to lilnightmare17, The Water Drinker, and Mapperson722 for reviewing! Big squishy hugs to you!

Side note, this story is at over 3,000 views! Yeah, that might not seem like a lot to some, but it's a lot to me. But I am kind of noticing a trend – not as many people make it past the first chapter. I know this happens quite a bit to stories with an OC, but I was hoping to draw people in a little more. That being said, would you all complain if I revamped the first couple of chapters? It wouldn't be any plot changes, just hopefully changing the way it reads so more go past that first chapter.

Again, if you haven't already, take a look at the poll on my profile. Also, if I am ever late on updating again (because I'm notorious for procrastinating and I can't guarantee it won't happen again), make sure to look at my profile. I will try to give an update on when the next chapter will be up if it's not on the 15th of every month. There's also some options of great stories to take a look at while you wait.

As always – follow, favorite, and review! I'm also open to PMs, if you'd like to talk without putting up a public review. Thanks!


	10. Ten

"Sixteen hours?" I had plopped my tired butt into one of the dining chairs opposite Yusuke and next to Kurama, rubbing the sleep from my eyes. Yukina was buzzing around the kitchen, humming quietly as she cleaned up from the midday meal. "How did you let me sleep for sixteen hours?"

Yusuke, all but sprawled over the chair he occupied, sniggered at me. "Kurama said you were pretty beat – you used up a lot of energy."

Kurama nodded, his hands folded gently on the table as he smiled softly. Every action he made was graceful, more so than I could ever hope to be. Each move seemed deliberate, and I was suddenly reminded of his former self. While this human body of his retained the measured movements, they lacked the intensity and danger that had emanated from the fox demon with the twitch of his muscles.

"When we expend so much energy, sleeping generally replenishes what you've used up. Depending on your stamina, the strength of your energy, and your physical strength, the sixteen hours you rested is not surprising."

I turned my head side to side, stretching out my muscles and "popping" my neck, wincing at the soreness I felt. "That wasn't resting, that was a coma."

Both Yusuke and Kurama chuckled at my comment before turning back to the conversation I had interrupted with my presence – discussion pertaining to the political situation in the Makai, involving people and places whose names went in one ear and out the other. I attempted to pay attention to their conversation, but my poor brain was still addled from my energy exercises from the day before.

Sighing heavily, I leaned back in my chair and watched Yukina flutter around as she cleaned. I'd offered my help the moment I'd entered the kitchen but she had shooed me into a chair and made excuses of how she was more than capable of handling it on her own. I had scrunched my nose and made a face at her before settling down, all too aware of her attempts to give me more time to rest, as if sixteen hours wasn't enough. For such a quiet and gentle girl, she was more than able to make me sit my ass down and continue to take it easy.

Yusuke and Kurama's voices droned on, nothing more than background noise as I completed a mental self-evaluation. My muscles were sore in ways I hadn't been with any kind of work out or physical sport (not that I'd participated in any in school), and I felt lethargic. Yukina touched my shoulder gently as she excused herself from the kitchen and I smiled up at her. Her hands were cold, even through the clean shirt I'd changed into, but it was a pleasant chill. I watched as she left, wondering if she'd gone to fetch Genkai.

Something Yusuke said had my brain throwing up flags like no other – my entire body tensed as my head snapped in his direction. My hand came down to slam on the table, interrupting their conversation. Kurama frowned at me immediately for my impoliteness, but I ignored him as I locked eyes with the dark haired male. "What did you say?"

Brown eyes narrowed at me, confused. "What the hell, Ria?"

I shook my head quickly to rid myself of the sudden rush of adrenaline, attempting to calm myself. This was irrational. "I'm sorry, but… just tell me what you said?"

Yusuke glanced over to Kurama, who also looked at me as though I'd grown an extra head. Slowly, Kurama gave a slight nod of his own head and the two turned back to me. "I was just talking about the old kings of demon world and how they used to do business."

Shooting an incredulous look his way, I frowned. "What _exactly_ did you say? A… a name, a place?" Was I just imagining it? Had my brains become mush from the energy exercise yesterday and completely unraveled what little sanity I had left?

The intensity of Kurama's gaze was making my skin crawl – of course this would make him more suspicious of me. What good was it attempting to be civil with the man if all I could do was make him distrustful towards me… again?

"Please…?" My voice cracked. I was panicking – I had imagined it, hadn't I? I was losing my shit, my marbles, my mind, whatever you wanted to call it. If he would just spit it out, we could all decided if I was really going crazy or not. Although, I was fairly positive at the moment I had already passed that point.

Yusuke sighed and crossed his arms. "I said, 'Yomi and Mukuro never liked the old man, but he kept the balance.'" Oh, no… There was nothing there I recognized… I noted the names, but they held no significance. There was no flare of memory, nothing! Oh gods, Kurama was going to think I was losing my mind and Yusuke would take his side. I was _acting_ crazy, if nothing else – "Of course, I doubt Raizen would have entered a tournament –"

" _Raizen_!" My anxiety released almost instantly and a wide grin stretched across my face. I knew that name! I knew him… Raizen. My fingers twitched as the knowledge of the battle god flashed though my memories. "Big guy, lots of muscles, long white hair – tribal markings? General disdain for shirts?"

Yusuke's jaw had gone slack as my elation grew. I was nearly bouncing in my chair as I bit at my lip excitedly. "You… you knew Raizen?"

My body grew still at the tension in the young man's voice. Suddenly, my mind was a whirlwind of memories and I could no longer focus on the physical world in front of me. My recollections had shoved forward, showing what I could remember of Raizen's deterioration due to his refusal to eat humans, the political issues it caused, and the few conversations I'd had with the Mazoku. If I was interpreting my memories correctly, I had once called Raizen 'friend.'

"Ria!" Yusuke's loud voice shook me back to the moment at hand. I jumped in my seat from surprise and met his gaze. He was on edge, his entire body taut with nervous energy. My brow wrinkled as I looked at him worriedly. "How… the hell do you know my old man?"

A few silent moments passed as I had to remind myself to breathe again. I blinked once, very slowly before realizing my mouth had dropped open at this revelation. "But, you can't… You- you're Raizen's son?!" I'm sure I looked like a damn fool with my mouth hanging open, but I couldn't real the shock back.

From what I could remember, not only had Raizen stopped consuming humans – he had also given up his additional carnal desires. The woman – the human woman had plagued his thoughts for centuries… Her temporary presence in his life had changed the battle god drastically. I had only met him once before their encounter, but she had influenced him far more than any of his kin, friends, or enemies. To learn that this _boy_ who sat in front of me was the son of the Mazoku did not compute.

Yusuke winced slightly before glancing over at Kurama, who let out an audible sigh of frustration. My gaze darted between the two as they seemed to come to an unspoken understanding and Kurama nodded his head. Yusuke's shoulders slumped and he reached up to rub the back of his neck. "Well… not exactly."

* * *

Slumping back in the chair, I rubbed my eyes at the tears that stung them. Yusuke's explanation of his ancestral heritage and Raizen's eventual death had set a pang of grief in my chest when I'd learned the Mazoku's body had succumbed to starvation. "Goddamn stubborn ass demon." I signed and shook myself mentally. "I knew he was persistent, but…"

Yusuke had folded his arms and leaned back in his chair as well. His head bobbed as he nodded. "Yup, the old man stuck it out to the very end – kept his promise he'd never eat a human again."

I raised an eyebrow in his direction. "Oh, I was talking about his sperm." Yusuke's torso lurched forward as he gagged in disgust. Kurama's fist came up to cover his own mouth to hide the chuckle that had escaped him. I glanced over at the kitsune and winked quickly. He had relaxed when he realized I was just excited to have discovered memories of my past. "I'm serious, though. His DNA waited generations to be activated in a viable heir, even after being diluted by human blood of his descendants – but here you are." My voice trailed off as I became thoughtful. My sense of time was skewed. I remembered Raizen giving up eating humans, but it hadn't been too long ago in my mind. He had only recently died, too. A powerful demon like him… it would have taken centuries for his body to give up. How long had I been alive?

The more I dwelt on my own past, the more I wished for someone to question on what exactly happened. Unfortunately, I could only think of one person who would have some semblance of answers.

"Aw, shucks, Ria – you sure know how to make a guy feel special and gross all at the same time." Yusuke was grinning widely. I smiled openly back.

Kurama was still chuckling to himself, shaking his head all the while. "Of course, Yusuke – it only took you dying twice to achieve it." Yusuke sent a half-hearted glare in Kurama's direction. My brow furrowed as I looked confusingly between the two.

"Hey, I only heard about the one time! What's this about twice?"

Yusuke flapped a hand at me. "We'll tell you later, it's not important."

"You died _twice_ and it's not important? Bullshit." Still, I grinned at him and let the subject matter drop. Yusuke and Kurama picked back up their previous conversation, although this time I was able to glean more after realizing Raizen's influence on the political situation. Occasionally, I had them stop to explain exactly who or what a name indicated, but they patiently complied.

When this particular conversation came to a close, I contemplated the new information I'd been given – the political situation in Demon World seemed to be at a delicate stage. Although Yusuke's Tournament had declared a demon named Enki as King, there were still several factions of who refused to heed his commands concerning humans. It was the collaboration of the former rulers of Demon World and Spirit World that kept the balance of the portals between Demon World and the Human World.

"Actually, that's where Hiei is today." I looked over at Kurama, my expression conveying my confusion. "He is asking for a temporary leave of duties. The former Lord Mukuro has him on rotations of border duty to make sure no humans stay too long after accidentally crossing into Demon World."

I sniggered at the thought of Hiei patrolling and escorting humans back home. "Oh, I bet he loves that."

Yusuke snorted. "At least he has a schedule. I'm randomly asked to do things at Koenma's whim." The look on the young man's face reminded me so severely of a small child pouting, I couldn't help but laugh at him. He stuck his tongue out at me and I scrunched my nose in response. Speaking of Koenma, though…

"Has anyone actually talked to Koenma lately?" Although I was aware of Genkai's plan to speak to the deity, I didn't want anyone to know I'd been eavesdropping on their conversations. "I mean, Genkai sort of thinks I'm innocent… I think. So, is she going to tell Koenma? Or, something… else…" I trailed off, unsure what Genkai could really do for me. I doubt I would be allowed to resume my old life, and I wasn't entirely sure I would want to now I'd learned of my previous life as a _freakin' dragon_.

Yusuke was nodding. "I talked to Botan yesterday – we're hoping Binky Breath with be here sometime today." He placed a finger on his chin. "Actually, come to think of it – Botan never gave a straight answer of when. Let me see if they're still coming." He rose from the table, stretching slightly, and made his way around to my side.

"Thanks, Yusuke."

He grinned widely and reached out to ruffle my hair, which I had left loose after a quick shower. I flailed my arms to smack his hands away and gave him a sharp glare. "Anything for our little murderer."

"Alleged!" I yelled at his back as he made his way out of the kitchen, though I couldn't help the small smile that tugged at my lips. As I turned back to the table, I found Kurama also had a small smile playing on his face. "Oh, hey, I forgot to ask you… Has, uh, has my… _scent_ changed recently?"

His head tilted to the side and I watched as his nostrils flared subtly. He blinked a few times before nodding. "Yes, your human scent has significantly diminished in the past few days – you are becoming more of your old self in body. Although, I am surprised you were able to sense it yourself."

I shifted in my chair. "I didn't, really. Hiei mentioned it yesterday when he carri – uh, took me back to my room yesterday." I was unsure if Hiei would care if Kurama knew that he was carrying me around when I was exhausted. My face heated – I was practically a rag doll the past few days!

Kurama's lips quirked in a small smirk. "It seems Hiei has taken a liking to you."

"If by taking a liking to me you mean he hasn't tried to kill me recently…"

The light-hearted chuckle from the red head had me smiling at him, though he responded with a short shrug. "He will be back this afternoon, since I can sense your curiosity in the matter."

A frown tugged at my lips as my nose wrinkled. I actually hadn't yet wondered if or when the fire demon would be back, although I did notice the lack of bickering in the past few hours I'd been awake. My life was in such a current state of disarray, I'd only barely noticed he wasn't around. Kurama, though, had other thoughts for me.

"Whatever you say, fox." I stretched and began to feel increasingly bored. There was very little to do in another person's home in comparison to what I'd done in my own home previously, so my legs began to bounce for want of activity. "So… what is there to do around here?"

"We could focus more time on your energy. Since I am aware of your limit, we can work more carefully on your abilities rather than the basic control." He tilted his head again and smiled. "Have you been attempting to reign in your energy or has it already become reflex?"

Truthfully, I'd been working on it since I woke from my brief coma, although I was far more aware of its actions than I'd been previously. It took less than half of my attention except for the moments my emotions escaped me. When I'd realized I knew Raizen, my energy had flared. I was able to keep it under control, but it had distracted me from my memories for an instant. I told Kurama as much and he hummed thoughtfully.

"Well, let's fetch Yusuke and we can begin another session momentarily."

* * *

"I hate you." I was collapsed on the ground this time. We'd gone behind Genkai's temple to the edge of the forest. Kurama had used his own energy to manipulate the plants around us, which I initially fawned over for a solid five minutes before focusing, into targets for me to concentrate my energy attacks on. Due to the scorches my energy had caused on the wood the day before, Kurama had decided it would be more beneficial to teach an offensive move before the defensive move.

I say Kurama decided when in all actuality it was Yusuke. He made the point that his own fighting style was centralized around his attacks and it had yet to fail him (except for the two times he'd died and the defeat at the Demon World Tournament… but I digress). Kurama did not necessarily agree with the tactic, but he allowed Yusuke to step in to offer advice.

Unfortunately, it had ended with me using up far too much of my energy at once. While it was not depleted completely this time, I had gone light headed and lost my balance. Frankly, I'd already gained it back but I had little desire to get back on my feet and try again. I'd destroyed several of Kurama's plants with the sharp attacks of my energy.

The bright lines of energy reminded me of the plasma globes I'd played with in high school and hobby shops, although it was more jagged in shape. It escaped through the skin of my arms, lashing out to the points I focused on… Well, it landed at least within a 5 feet of where I aimed. I had to shove both arms out in front of me in the direction I was aiming to get the lashings close at all.

Closing my eyes, I threw an arm over my face and planned to ignore the two young men off to the side for the next several minutes. How embarrassing to basically swoon after using too much energy – ridiculous! Obviously, I was not comfortable with reading my own energy levels properly. I had a feeling there was a lot of personal meditation in my future…

"Ria, get up." Yusuke's voice was low and demanding. Was he angry at me? I wanted to tell him off, to go jump off a cliff or something similar for rebuking my issues. Instead I just let out an angry groan, refusing to use my words.

" _Ria_." I sat up quickly, Kurama's quiet voice sending a trickle of fear up my spine. His tone had dropped and I could tell he was facing away from me. Black spots formed in my vision momentarily, but when it cleared I looked expectantly up at the two men. They faced away from me towards the temple and I followed their gaze.

Genkai had guests.

* * *

I disliked Koenma. His little beady eyes narrowed and staring at me made me extremely uncomfortable – as though he was judging me with every passing second. It also didn't help he couldn't decide which form to take – the toddler or the handsome young man (not that I found him handsome). While Yusuke was quick to assure me it was the same Koenma, it made my unease about him only stronger to have the deity who'd accused me of murder only days before suddenly looking closer to my age, still with a pacifier clenched between his teeth. I almost preferred the talking toddler.

Alright, I may have been biased against him. And he may or may not have been looking at me with a completely blank expression, but all I saw from him was judgement.

Genkai had led us back into the temple to a sitting room similar to the one I'd relayed my story in several days earlier. This one was bigger and accommodated the ruler we had in our presence with a high quality table and plush seats. Genkai had me sit next to her, opposite Koenma, as she began to relay what had gone on at the temple since my arrival. While she spared a few details, including my depressive state, she was still very blunt about her interpretation of my behavior.

When she had finished, Koenma folded his arms and stared thoughtfully at the table. "Genkai, I generally trust your judgement. From what I can tell, you support this… _dragon_ and, at least in part, believe what she has told you. Kurama, you vouched for her initially." The ruler turned towards the red head. I tried to catch his eyes, but Kurama's gaze stayed trained on Koenma. "Would you still support her after spending this time in her presence?"

The fox's nod came far too slow for my liking, but it did come. I released the breath I had been holding and Kurama's lips twitched momentarily. "She is not entirely the same Great Dragon I met in my previous life, but I trust she would not cause harm willingly."

Koenma gave a short 'hm' before turning back and meeting my gaze full on. His brow was furrowed and a frown tugged at his lips. With Kurama's support, I felt a surge of confidence. I lifted my chin in defiance and refused to turn away.

Suddenly, Koenma reached into a fold of his robes and pulled out a scroll, snapping it open so it spread before our small group on the table. Genaki leaned forward to look it over, but by a quick glance I could tell it was in a language I did not understand.

"Rihama." Glancing up, I found Koenma's dark eyes trained on me. Suddenly, I felt like the center of this deity's attention was a very bad place to be. "You are accused of the murder of the Great Red Dragon Kotomaru."

A grimace tore across my face and I shook my head quickly, shudders running up my back. "No. No! I didn't do it –"

He ignored me. "You are accused of supplying the Demon World's Black Market with bones, scales, blood, and fangs of the Great Red Dragon."

My hands slapped over my face as I felt the tears well up in my eyes. How could he be doing this to me?! Genkai believed me! Kurama believed me! Why wasn't he listening? His stupid father was the one who gave me a contract in the first place – I shouldn't have to prove my innocence all over again!

"You are accused of escaping to the Human World under false pretenses. You are accused of betraying your kin –"

" _ **Listen**_!" I could not hold back my anger any longer. My eyes flew open as I bared my fangs at Koenma. The shout that escaped me filled the space of the room, vibrating the rice paper with the roar. Koenma's face reflected his shock, as well as the other occupants of the room. "You need to review your father's contracts – Rihama is in there. A deal was struck."

A brief moment of silence followed my outburst, and as my anger faded, the more my embarrassment grew. I was not typically prone to such angry outbursts and from the looks Koenma and Genaki were giving me, I was reminded of exactly why I didn't allow myself to be so distraught. When I glanced over at Yusuke, however, I was pleasantly surprised to find him grinning. I shrugged sheepishly before turning back to Koenma.

His head slowly bobbed as he nodded. "Yes, I know. I was coming to tell you about it… Don't yell at me. That was rude."

* * *

"So, King Enma truly did decide a dragon hiding in the human world was like a land mine – just waiting to be activated at the signs of trouble." Genkai was nodding. Her assumptions had been correct. The scroll Koenma had placed in front of us was apparently the contract I'd signed with Koenma's father, detailing only that I had sought refuge in the Human World and King Enma could call on me for a single favor at any time of his choosing.

I didn't remember fully signing the contract or making the deal with King Enma. While the consciousness of Rihama had only showed during the one particular instance, I had no other indication I'd even sought refuge through Spirit World's ruler.

"I am truly sorry, Ria. My father never let me in on his dealings with demons. We obviously know why now, but it never occurred to me that you were a casualty in his reign." Although I still didn't trust the man, I had to admit it was gratifying to know he was sorry for the way he'd treated me.

"Are you still going to arrest me?" My eyes were narrowed at him. He'd already tried once – maybe he'd do it just to make a point.

Yusuke guffawed and even Kurama let out a chuckle; I thought my question was justified. Koenma smiled softly."No, but since your case is still officially on the books, I have to complete the investigation. Care to give an official statement?"

"Yeah, sure. Why the hell not?" I paused, an idea flashing through my mind. Perhaps I could get this to work in my favor to sort out questions I still had. "…On one condition."

An eyebrow raised in my direction. "I'm afraid to ask."

"I want to see Clayton."

* * *

 **A/N:**...don't hate me. I know I'm super late with this chapter. Unfortunately, a lot has been going on in my personal and work life. Namely, I'm going through the process of getting a Certificate of Professional Ethics through a graduate school. It's been a little tedious, especially since I'm asking my employer to help pay for this education. Fun times.

Chapter 11 will be out on time, though. I promise. As always, review, favorite, and follow if you enjoy the story! Thank you so much to lilnightmare17, MissLini, Why4What, Ground-Cinnamon, S, pourquoibella, and Lestatsgirl15 for reviewing! Big squishy hugs to you all!


	11. Eleven

"Absolutely not!"

"Are you insane?"

"Ria, no."

"Are you even more stupid than the dimwit?"

They spoke at once, their objection to my condition overlapping as they yelled their disbelief. No, I wasn't going crazy. I had questions and Clayton had answers; I needed the closure.

"That's my condition, Koenma. I'll help in whatever way I can to clear up this mess… but you have to provide Clayton." I sat back with my arms folded, my chin lifted in defiance. Where had this sudden bout of confidence come from? Though I wasn't exactly complaining about it, the sureness of my words was a bit out of the ordinary for me. Yes, I wanted to speak – no, interrogate – Clayton. I was a stickler for closure. There was no way in hell I was just going to let him disappear into Spirit World's clutches without understanding his motives to torture me. But had I been my old self – my old human self, I would have never demanded my time with him. Passive inquiries would have suited me so much better.

My confusion at my confidence thankfully allowed me more time to continue my stare down with Koenma, who finally conceded with a heavy sigh and a motion to Botan, whom I had completely forgotten was in the room. Yukina had also joined us, but from the way she clenched her fist close to her mouth I could tell she'd heard my demand.

"Give me a few days, Rihama –" " _Ria_." "– and I will see if we can't make this happen." Although Koenma still maintained his regal composure, I could hear the weight of his voice. He was tired and arguing with me was beyond what he was willing to waste energy on.

I nodded, allowing him the time. Genkai was shaking her head at me, a pipe clutched between her teeth. It hadn't been lit yet, but she chewed on it all the same. There was heavy silence that fell over our small group and I took the chance to allow my gaze to drift over to both Yusuke and Kurama.

Unfortunately, both of them were frowning at me. Heat flushed over my chest and face, and I turned sheepishly back to stare at my lap. "Thank you, Koenma… if you'll excuse me." Pushing myself to my feet, I rushed from the room and ignored Kurama and Yukina's calls.

My steps led me to the center garden of the temple where Yukina and I had had tea previously. I sat down heavily and let my legs hang over the sides. Pulling the braid out of my hair, I ran my fingers through it and took in one deep breath after the other to settle the nerves I'd had built up.

I should have felt guilt or embarrassment – I expected those. Genkai and Kurama thought I was stupid for asking to see Clayton. Hell! Even Yusuke thought it wasn't a good idea! But… instead I felt adrenaline and confidence. I'd gotten my way… I'd made what had seemed like a senseless demand and Koenma had agreed.

A small smile broke through my lips as I laughed to myself.

"People will think you're crazy, laughing like that." Yusuke had followed me out to the porch. Plopping next to me, he leaned back on his hands and grinned. I smirked back at him before turning forward. A few moments of silence passed between us before Yusuke spoke again. "Are you sure you want to do this?"

I snorted. "What – confront the man who pretended to be my friend, drugged me, kidnapped me, and tortured me for several days? Yeah. Yeah, I do."

He frowned, then nodded as he turned back forward. "Fair enough. Koenma's working on it. You'll get your time with him."

I nodded again, smiled, and allowed my body to fall back on the deck. Breathing a sigh of relief, I closed my eyes.

* * *

 _ **Humanity has made you stupid.**_ _Rihama was speaking to me again. I'd opened my eyes and found myself on her back, between the wings pulled in tight as we walked through the trees. I didn't recognize the terrain, but I knew it wasn't near the temple. I felt a twinge of agitation she'd interrupted my gloating._ _ **Asking to see the man who kidnapped and tortured you… Just leave it! He is not important!**_

" _It is to me!" I smacked a hand onto the scales between my legs, but winced and shook my hand out as I realized I'd just smacked a hard dragon scale. I could feel the low rumble of her chuckle beneath my body. "I have questions and they need to be answered!"_

 _ **Who cares?! You are stronger now! Our soul is bonding again, the seals have been cracked!**_

 _My body slid from her back as I jumped off. I was glad this was a dream, or vision or something, because the drop would have probably hurt if it had been physical – her shoulder stood at least twenty feet from the ground. She stopped her slow trek to curve her long neck back to face me. I had my hands on my hips as I glared at her._

" _Yeah, about these seals – care to share with the rest of the class? You forget I don't have all of our memories yet. I don't know what you're talking about."_

 _Rihama tilted her head as she observed me, as if she had just realized what I'd said was true. Did she really not consider I might not think like her?_

 _ **The seals – the ones King Enma placed on us. You do not remember?**_ _I stared at her for a long moment before cocking an eyebrow. She snorted in frustration._ _ **How convenient.**_

 _I raised my eyebrows and looked at her expectantly. Narrowing her own golden eyes, she snorted and shook her head in frustration._

 _ **King Enma placed seals on our energy, our memories, and the remainder of our abilities. It required the splitting of our soul and took a very long time… but Enma did it. There were fail safes, like the one that healed your body after you were injured. That cracked the seal, but when you were in such danger in the warehouse with those other demons, you widened it and it broke. It is like a dam – a small crack is nothing until a great force is pressed on it. You release more every day training with the kitsune. You can fix us.**_

 _I frowned and crossed my arms. "See, you could have told me this sooner!"_

 _ **I assumed you knew.**_

" _How about from now on you just assume I know nothing?"_

 _I could feel the vibrations of her chuckle in the ground beneath me._ _ **Easy enough. Only if you will stop being so nice to the little prince.**_

" _Koenma? I'm just being civil with him."_

 _ **He is not worthy of our time. Use him only as long as necessary, then rid yourself of him. He has never been kind to the Great Dragons. You will understand when our soul is mended.**_

* * *

"You look really tired, Ria." Yusuke was frowning at me. He'd woken me up when Kurama had come to find us. Since Koenma was talking to Genkai, Kurama had decided some more training for me couldn't hurt. I rolled my eyes in Yusuke's direction before stretching my hand out towards him, fingers pressed tightly together and palm facing the ground. Kurama had suggested I attempt to focus my energy into a single point of my body and allow it to flow through instead of wildly lashing out from various appendages; my hands were the obvious selection.

Narrowing my eyes, I breathed in deeply through my nostrils and willed the energy to condense around me. It was wearisome, as it took nearly all of my concentration to even pull enough of my energy into a single location of my body. I'd already broken a sweat earlier, as I was on nearly my tenth round. We'd discovered I needed a catalyst to even _want_ to focus my energy at, as the tree Kurama had originally pointed me to had bored me fairly quickly. Instead, Yusuke had begun to taunt me and it had quite suddenly become easier to focus my energy into an attack.

"That's because I _am_ tired, Yusuke." It had been exhausting to wake up from my conversation with Rihama; she drained me. Baring my teeth, I spread my fingers and pushed the energy I'd collected in my hand out with a snarl. It launched towards Yusuke in a streak of crackling light, and he dodged to the side to get out of its way. It struck a tree behind him and immediately burned a soccer ball sized crater into the trunk. The wood smoldered a bit and I smirked at my progress. I just had to get faster now…

"Aw, did someone not get her beauty sleep? I can tell." My eyes flashed towards him and I pulled my hand up again, palm outstretched as another blast of energy was sent his way. I panted at the exertion of releasing another blast so close to the previous and my muscles ached from the strain of pulling my energy to my hand so fast. Yusuke dodged again, this time the ball of energy hitting a large rock behind him.

"Better." Kurama called out to me from his position several yards away. "Do it again."

I ground my teeth and followed through – I pulled more energy into my opposite hand, hoping to give my muscles something new to follow. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw the flash of white robes as Koenma and Genkai stepped out onto the back porch to watch my progress. An unwarranted surge of rage bubbled in my chest and I bared my teeth in a snarl as I threw my shoulder and fist forward in another attack.

This one was too fast, too large – too much for Yusuke to dodge as he had been. As he flung himself out of the way, the ball of crackling energy caught the edge of his torso along his ribs before blasting the rocks behind him into dust. The destruction of the rock was loud as a bomb, but I was still able to hear Yusuke's cry of pain as he fell to the ground and clutched at his ribs.

My hands pulled back to cover my mouth in shock. Kurama shot forward to Yusuke's side. I was vaguely aware of Botan's exclamation from their spot on the porch and Genkai telling her to stay put. Returning to my senses, I rushed over to Yusuke. He was sitting up, thankfully. As I approached, I realized his shoulders were shaking – not from pain, but from laughter. I stopped just short of his position, looking down at him in confusion. Kurama was shaking his head.

Wincing, Yusuke shot me a bright smile. "Now _that_ was a good one! You really got me there, Ria!"

My jaw dropped as I looked him over. The white t-shirt he'd been wearing was torn and was soaked quickly with blood. He pulled his hand back so Kurama could check the damage, only to shake his head quickly. "Flesh wound – it's only bleeding because she hit the thin skin surrounding your ribs. At least your dodges have gotten better, or that could have been a much bigger mess to clean up."

Yusuke grinned up at me before offering his bloodied hand to Kurama. The kitsune shook his head before grabbing under Yusuke's bicep and hauling him to his feet with ease.

"You're still too slow to dodge an attack from an amateur?! Get your ass back to training, dimwit!" Genkai was yelling across the yard at him and Yusuke grumbled some choice words at the older woman under his breath.

I smiled briefly at the Mazoku before shaking my head. Kurama led Yusuke back to the temple so he could bandage the wound, making comments of how it would be healed within a day or so. I trudged along behind them and made the mistake of glancing up at Koenma. His eyes were narrowed as he scrutinized me, a deep frown set in his features. Genkai noticed my own frown and turned spoke under her breath to Koenma, but my ears caught every word.

"Not all Great Dragons are the same, Koenma, so stow the pessimism."

* * *

I was laying on my futon later that night attempting to process the day's events. Koenma had left and we'd taken the afternoon to relax. Although I knew I was more of a guest than a prisoner now, I still had no desire to go off exploring the grounds. Instead, I took the alone time to reflect on what Rihama had told me of the seals, Genkai's comment to Koenma, and what exactly I would say to Clayton when I saw him.

Mumbling to myself, I asking a figurative Clayton how he's doing, how's his new life, and asking if he knew how much he'd changed mine. I grumbled a bit, because even though he'd ruined my human life, he'd actually reminded me of my previous. Bastard. And then I'd found Kurama again… Because of Clayton, I'd met Raizen's heir and the King of Thieves, not to mention the fire demon, Genkai, and Yukina.

Dammit.

I'd snagged a chopstick from the kitchen earlier and twirled it between my fingers absently. It allowed my mind to stop focusing on what could or could not happen in the next few days and the repercussion of my demand. I sighed to myself, attempting to gather the will to turn off the lights and actually sleep.

My door snapped open with a clack and I jumped at the sound, my arms and legs thrashing in shock. I settled back on my forearms, and glared at Hiei as he stared me down with a snarl.

"Are you a complete idiot?" Hiei seethed through bared teeth, his eyes flashing as he stepped into the small bedroom. I blinked slowly at him before rolling my eyes and flopping back on the futon.

"Hey Hiei, how was your trip? How was my day? Oh, just peachy. Koenma found my contract and they're doing an investigation, but I made a demand and he's going to follow through. I made Yusuke bleed earlier. Have you eaten yet?"

A growl low in his chest escaped through his bared fangs, but I looked at him with a bored expression. He'd missed out on the excitement of the day because he'd abruptly left without so much of a goodbye.

He shut the door behind him and stalked over to the side of my futon, staring down at me threateningly. The scared human inside of me wilted from his expression, but I could feel the courage I'd gained from speaking to Koenma and Rihama in the same day still coursing through me. What was he going to do – kill me?

When he reached down to haul me up by the fabric of the front of my loose sleeping shirt, I found it could be a very real possibility. Thankfully, we were similar height so he could only bring me to my feet for the threatening act to still have effect. Had he tried to raise me any higher, I might have giggled.

I was in a terrible frame of mind, it seemed.

Hiei seemed to notice I wasn't exactly taking him as serious as he liked, so he yanked me close enough so I could feel the heat radiating off his body. His hot breath fanned out over my face as he growled. "Leave the Maneshi demon be – do you think you'll gain anything from this ridiculous demand to see it?"

I narrowed my eyes at him as I brought my hands up to grip at his wrist and forearm, motioning for him to let go. He allowed me to fully support my weight back on my feet, but he did not let go of the bunched fabric. I frowned at him – the shirt wasn't long enough for this treatment. I could feel the different temperatures of the room on my midriff. Between the heat coming from him and the cool air to the back of me, I could feel the gooseflesh raising on my skin.

"You weren't here to argue, so Koenma agreed. And what the fuck is a 'Maneshi'?" Hiei growled at my question, and I reached out to shove against his chest, hoping he would take the hint to back off. Of course, he did not.

Pursing my lips, I wrinkled my nose at the fire demon. He scoffed before releasing my shirt and shoving me back. I stumbled and fell back on the futon, glaring back up at him. "Maneshi – copycats. They steal other demon's abilities since they cannot wield their own."

My eyebrows raised at this new information. Was he calling Clayton a Maneshi? "Is that why you went to Demon World, to find out about them?"

Hiei scoffed and crossed his arms while looking smugly down at me. "No, everyone knows of Maneshi." I wrinkled my nose again – jerk. "I went back to inform… someone I would be gone for some time, depending on your ability to destroy the human world."

"Hey!" I pushed myself back up from the futon, moving up in Hiei's face although the man didn't even flinch at my movement. I shoved a finger on his (unfortunately… or fortunately) muscled chest and internally winced at the harsh contact. "Let's get something straight, red eyes – I'm not here to destroy the world. I don't want to and I doubt I'm even capable. So knock it off with the stereotypical comments."

"Hn. You probably _aren't_ capable."

My head fell back in exasperation and I groaned before stepping around him. "Are you even capable of opening your mouth and _not_ insulting me?" I made to show him the door, but as I moved, my foot caught the edge of his boot and I stumbled, the floor coming up quickly to meet me. Hiei's hot hand caught me and yanked me back to a standing position. As soon as I felt I had my balance back, I yanked myself from his grip and glared at him. "Go away."

His scowl deepened as he turned to face me again. I rubbed the spot he'd grabbed with the palm of my hand – he'd grabbed hard. "What the hell is wrong with you?"

"Lots of things!" I seethed out at him, throwing my hands up. "You weren't around for the discussion, so you don't get a part in the decision! Plus without you around, all this sass has been pent up and it's making me cranky!"

Hiei's brow furrowed as he tilted his head. I'd confused him. It was true, though. In the past few days, I'd really had nothing but sarcastic banter with the fire demon, and I hadn't noticed the amount of sass and sarcasm that had been flowing through me as of late. When there was no one around I felt comfortable unleashing my sass on, it built up like the pressure in a pop bottle. "Sass?"

"Yes, this new found sense of sarcasm and wit. Rihama's influence, probably." As Hiei's head tilted the opposite direction, I sighed and crossed my arms. "Right, uh… I saw Rihama again in a dream or vision – whatever. She thinks I'm stupid, too, if it's any consolation."

Hiei's shoulders loosened and I watched as he relaxed in my presence finally. I hadn't even realized he'd been so tense. "What did she say?"

"That Clayton wasn't important, but I want… I need to know." Shrugging, I decided I gave up on attempting to get Hiei to leave my room. I hadn't even told Kurama about my visit with Rihama –it was eating away at me. I sidled back to the futon and sat down again. Hiei's legs folded underneath him as he sat down on the floor across from me, moving his sword from the place at his side to holding in his hands. "She explained what seals had been placed on me."

"The one's hindering your powers and memories." Hiei's voice was sure – no questioning. I nodded in response. "Tell me."

I explained as best I could – the different seals placed on me, how I'd cracked them, and now how we were continuing to break them. When I'd completed my explanation, Hiei folded his arms and grew silent as he contemplated the new information. I'd contemplated plenty on my own, so I allowed him the time to think.

Unfortunately, it also gave me a moment to reflect on what exactly the seals were and what they meant. If I was gaining more memories from the crack in the seals, not to mention the changing of my appearance and the small differences in my personality, what would happen once the seals were completely removed?

Would I be a different person? Would I notice? Would I care?

"Hiei?" He finally looks up from his musing to meet my own gaze, though his brow furrows at my own worried expression. "Do you know a way I can break the seals? I'd rather just get it done and over with… This waiting game sucks."

He took a moment, blinked once, and shrugged a shoulder. "I haven't seen them, so I don't' know."

I rolled my eyes at his deflection. "So can you look then? Is that a thing?"

Hiei smirked, and reached up behind his head. When the white strip of cloth grew slack and fell from his forehead, I stared blatantly at the new expanse of skin I'd yet to see on the man. Although the majority of it was no different from the rest of his face, there was a thin, horizontal line in the center of his forehead.

I flinched as the line split and I came face to face with a large, violet eye.

"This is the Jagan."

I tried – and I mean I _really_ tried to look at the purple iris of Hiei's third eye. But the longer I stared, the more blurry my vision became. It was like an optical illusion for me . While the entirety of my vision remained clear, including Hiei's face, the area where his Jagan was grew more and more unclear with every passing second. I had to rub my eyes several times and even shook my head to hopefully get rid of the effect. Nothing helped.

"I can't see it!" I grew too frustrated and instead focused on the red hue of Hiei's normal eyes. "It's just blurry every time I look at it!"

Crimson narrowed at me and he growled low in his throat. "Another problem for another time. Clear your mind."

I shook my head quickly. "Why? What is that?"

"It will let me see your seals. Now _clear your mind._ " He wasn't asking nicely anymore, instead giving me a short command. I wrinkled my nose at him, but complied and attempted to focus on a state of meditation Kurama had attempted to teach me. If Hiei was willing to help, I was going to let him.

It only took a good 10 seconds for Hiei to emit a snarl. "I cannot see them! They are protected!" My eyes snapped open to frown at him.

"Well don't get so mad at me!" He was baring his teeth, the purple eye on his forehead glowing brightly. From the light emitted from it, my vision began to swim and I cried out from the disorientation, screwing my eyes shut. "Turn that thing off!"

"There is no 'off,' you idiot." I could nearly feel the dizzying sensation fade as Hiei closed the Jagan. Slowly cracking my eyes open, I rubbed at my head.

"I can't look at your eye thing and you can't look at my seals. Just great." I was grumbling under my breath as I fell to the side and curled my knees up to my chest. Confusion ate at my mind as I realized Hiei wouldn't be able to help. More so, I realized I didn't especially want his help – I just wanted a guideline of how to take care of it myself. Trusting someone to help me had gotten me in this mess, both King Enma and Clayton at the forefront of my mind. Maybe it was time to just stop expecting anyone of the ability to help me.

A heavy silence fell over the two of us, and I could feel Hiei's tension filling the room. He was frustrated, as was I. If we didn't dispel the tension, one of us would crack and a fight would ensue. Although part of my mind reveled in the possibility of conflict, the majority of my brain knew it was a _very bad idea_ to pick a fight with this particular demon.

"Say something." My voice was muffled by the futon. I'd buried my face in it. Hiei was still for a moment, and I thought he may not answer me.

"Tell me of Rihama." I turned my face towards him, but made no effort to raise myself up. I did, however, reach up to snag the pillow I'd been using and pressed it under my head.

"Why?"

"I have never met a Great Dragon before. Tell me of her."

I snorted and shifted to make myself more comfortable on the futon. Glancing over at Hiei, I found he was still stiffly sitting cross legged on the floor. "You can sit on the end of the bed if it's more comfortable." I offered him more room as I shifted towards the head of the futon. Hiei made no move, although he looked at me with a curious expression. "You know Rihama is _me,_ right?"

He was suddenly sitting in the same position at the end of the futon. Freaky fast reflexes, that man. I flinched from his sudden movement, but he ignored it. Instead, he raised and eyebrow and stared pointedly in my direction, waiting for me to begin.

Huffing through my nose, I attempted to wrack my brain for an explanation of the Great Dragon that was Rihama… that was me. "Rihama is… confident. More so arrogant, I guess. Every time I see her, she looks like a dragon – all white scales and gold horns and claws. But she is terrifyingly beautiful…"

Hiei snorted. "Conceited."

I reached out my foot and kicked his leg quickly, to which he grabbed my ankle for a quick moment and squeezed a warning before releasing it. I regretted using shorts to sleep in as it left my ankle unprotected and more than likely subject to a bruise. Sticking my tongue out at Hiei, I drew my leg back to my body before letting out a short chuckle. "She kind of is, though."

The corner of his mouth turned up and disappeared so quickly I almost missed it. But he was amused, so I continued giving him what little information on the Great Dragon I had once been.

* * *

 **A/N:** Let's just go ahead and assume I'm gonna be late all the time. I don't mean to, but life happens… and shit kind of went down this week in both my personal and work lives so… Not apologizing.

Special thanks to pourquoibella, Melody-Ravenwood, lilnightmare17, and MissLini for reviewing last chapter! Big squishy hugs to you!

And just thanks to everyone who's still reading this. I know I don't update much and when I do, it's usually late, but I do love this story and the characters I'm writing about. It's a lot of fun and it's a great creative outlet for me.

Okay, anyway – don't forget to review, favorite, and follow! See you next month!


	12. Twelve

"This is such a terrible idea… why did you let me go through with this?" My hands were shaking and my voice escaped me in a hoarse whisper. I felt if I stood a certain way, my knees would almost certainly knock together. A distinct and overpowering sense of unease had fallen over me the moment we'd passed through the doors of the prison.

Clayton had been transferred specifically for this meeting. Originally, he'd been kept in a prison in the Makai for King Enki to put him on trial and punish him. Yusuke had explained King Enki's first decree had outlawed demons from perpetrating anything against humans in the Ningenkai. Since Clayton had assumed I was a human when he began to torture me, they were going to try him for such.

Koenma had worked out an agreement with Enki to bring Clayton back to a prison based in the human world, far from prying human eyes and protected against demonic ones as well. I'd no idea such a place existed, and when I questioned Kurama and Hiei about it, they'd remained silent and refused to answer.

"Ria, are you alright?" Kurama's soft voice was next to me, and I jumped suddenly as he attempted to put his hand on my shoulder. "You are shivering."

My entire body was trembling, the sense of anxiety developing into full blown fear.

" _Now_ the idiot becomes wary." Hiei grumbled from my other side. I shot him a glare, but couldn't keep the sense of anger as I turned my gaze up to Kurama.

"Can't… can't you _feel_ it?" My voice cracked as I'd clenched my jaw from the pressure I felt imposed on my – this anxiety came from the aura around me, caving in on my senses. Kurama met my gaze, giving a tense nod as his eyes roamed over me.

"There are wards here, designed to suppress demonic energy and evil intentions." _Now he tells me!_ "Hiei and I had prepared ourselves for this – we should have warned you. I was not aware your energy would be strong enough to feel it."

I reached over and smacked him on the arm with the back of my hand. He looked down at me sharply, surprise spreading across his features. In all honesty, I was slightly surprised with my reaction, but I didn't feel regret. Of course he should have warned me! I gave him a look of disgust and glared hard at him. This was an unfair advantage – I wanted to properly question Clayton! But since my sense of confidence was drained by the wards, all I really wanted to do was run home and hide! I smacked him again with more force and again he didn't stop me. "My energy is already struggling to escape the confines of the seals Enma placed on me. You didn't think more suppression would be a problem?" I turned away with a scoff. At least I still had my sarcasm. "I'm basically a human all over again. Without Rihama's influence, I'm realizing how _fucking stupid_ this idea was."

My outlook on the situation had been so positive earlier. My discussion with Hiei on who Rihama was the night before had filled me with confidence and even a spot of the arrogance we both agreed the Great Dragon was capable of. I was allowed my retribution! Although Hiei still did not understand why I wanted to go through with questioning Clayton, he would not sit idly by as I made a fool out of myself (his words, obviously). Yusuke had decided to remain behind, using it as an excuse to escape back to the normalcy of his life back in Tokyo. He promised to come back in a few days, but I waved him off and told him only to come back if he felt the need. I'd already caused him enough headache.

I shook my head and internally asked Rihama to lend me the strength to get through the suppression of the dragon nature I'd become accustomed to. I knew she wouldn't answer… although she was a part of me, I still hadn't been able to speak to her during my waking hours. A shudder, starting at the back of my neck, rippled down my body. Taking in a shaky breath, I shook my head quickly. "Let's get this bullshit over with."

* * *

Kurama led me quietly to a small room with a simple metal table in it, two chairs on opposite sides. The walls were white and bare, as were the floor and ceiling. The white glow of the fluorescent lights hanging above the table was far too bright, but I attempted to ignore it. Kurama motioned for me to take a seat on one side. As I slid slowly into the metal chair, both Kurama and Hiei took positions behind me against the wall. We waited several minutes in the quiet of the interrogation room.

When the clang of the door's lock echoed against the blank walls, I flinched and rushed to watch two guards enter the room with their prisoner supported between them. His head had been covered with a black bag, his hands and feet chained with a metal that blurred under my line of sight, similar to what Hiei's Jagan had done the night previous. I tore my eyes from his shackles to observe Clayton as he was sat down in the chair and the chains connecting his hands and feet were linked to a hook in the floor I'd missed earlier.

When he'd been securely chained, the guards nodded to Hiei and Kurama stiffly; their eyes barely ever strayed to me. One reached out with a gloved hand to grab the top of the black material and yanked it quickly from their prisoner's head. Clayton's head rolled back as the guards quietly exited the room, his eyes still closed. His hair was greasy and unkempt. There were dark circles beneath his eyes, giving the impression he hadn't exactly slept since the last time we'd been in the same room.

He rolled his neck in the opposite direction and I grimaced at the audible 'pops' as he stretched. Dark brown eyes slowly opened to take in the bright room, first focusing on the two demons standing just behind me. Clayton's lips twitched in a snarl as his eyes focused on Kurama; I doubted the fox would give him the pleasure of response.

Realizing how run down the man in front of me appeared, I let the breath I'd been holding out. His eyes snapped away from Kurama and focused intently on my own. My hands, which had been resting on the table's surface in front of me, clenched tightly and my claws pressed against the thin skin of my palms. A tremor ran down my spine as Clayton realized I was in the room.

His jaw slacked and his eyes lit up as he grasped just exactly who he'd been sat down with. Clayton took in a sharp inhale, breathing out my name with a long exhale. My lip twitched at the sound of my name coming from this… this abomination. I felt a surge of anger flood through my limbs – restrictions or not, my anger felt very powerful in that moment. My face hardened and a growl built deep in my throat.

"What are you?" The words seethed from between my teeth. Although I still felt a twinge of anxiety deep in my core, it fed more into the anger that was filling me, causing my body to grow stiff.

The chains of Clayton's shackles clanked against the restraining hooks as he shifted to lean forward. Movement behind me had Clayton's eyes shifting from my face to the fire demon. Clayton's lips turned down in a deep frown as he tried to place Hiei's face in his memories. I wanted his focus, though.

"I'll ask again – what are you?" He was going to answer my questions, no matter how much my hands trembled from the anxiety of being seated so close to the man who'd completely ruined my human life by kidnapping and torturing me. His eyes slid back to focus on me.

"Maneshi - I believe you would call me a mirror demon." He shook his head, allowing the greasy strands of black to fall around his face. His voice was scratchy and rough – I assumed they hadn't been giving him too much to drink.

"And just what the fuck does that mean?" Clayton let out a chuckle at my question. He slouched in his chair, attempting to look relaxed. I growled at his lack of response, but Kurama answered my question instead.

"Maneshi demons are able to imitate another's abilities for a short while. They are able to steal the ability entirely if they are powerful enough, although it kills the original wielder."

Clayton winked up at the fox and clicked his tongue. "Spot on, Brainiac." He chuckled again. "My friends said you were smart, but not many know of Maneshi demons outside of the big leagues of Spirit World."

I ignored Clayton's comment about Kurama, though I tucked away the indication that Clayton knew exactly who the kitsune was. I tilted my head to bring his gaze back to me. "You were going to kill me."

"I never said I was going to kill you... I just wanted to heal myself properly. Your healing ability was …" He whistled low. "Something else."

"I don't have a healing ability, you idiot." His eyebrows raised and confusion spread across his face. "It was a defense mechanism. I heal like any other demon."

"So you _are_ a demon? I knew it… what kind? The gold sparks that danced over your skin were…" He inhaled deeply, "delicious." He blinked with the last word and his eyes opened to the cloudy white coloring I'd seen. I recoiled at the sight of them, a snarl ripping from my throat. He blinked again and they were back to brown.

Hatred. I don't think I'd ever felt this particular emotion in my human life. Yes, I'd felt distaste, disgust, and intense dislike – but hatred was an entirely separate experience. My ears burned, my stomach twisted in knots, and the anger that accompanied filled me down to my fingertips.

"None of your fucking business." I spoke the words through clenched teeth. "How long had you been planning to kidnap me?"

Clayton quirked his head to the side. "Plan? There was no plan – I was just hanging out."

I didn't believe him. "You wormed your way into my life."

"Because you were interesting! You had this gravitational pull – no actually energy to speak of, but I knew if I hung around you, something would pop up. How was I supposed to know it was you all along?" He made a move as if to cross his arms, but the shackles against his wrists clanked against the link in the table at the strain and he frowned. "And I didn't worm my way in – you welcomed me with open arms. You just seemed so lonely- so lost. It makes sense now."

I continued to glare at him. I had never felt lost or lonely – I disliked the general population of the human race, like any other introvert with above average intelligence. I knew how to be friendly and sociable, but when I chose not to, no one would even approach me. Clayton had been persistent – he'd talked to me no matter my mood and initially I regretted being nice to him. I'd even told him off a handful of times, but he kept coming back. He _had_ wormed his way into my life, as someone I'd considered a trusted friend. What fantasy was he living in that he hadn't been conniving?

"Why did you need to heal yourself?"

"I had to drop myself down to C-class to get through the Kekkai Barrier easily and fly under the radar. That meant getting a little beat up. Then the barrier fell… and I didn't need to worry about my energy spike causing Spirit World to come down on my head. First thing was to heal, silly."

His fingers twitched against the table; he wanted to reach out and touch the tip of my nose. He'd done it countless times in the Coffee Shoppe. It had been cute at the time… If he'd had the ability to tap my nose, I probably would have bit the finger off. My lip twitched at the promise of tearing into his flesh.

Suddenly I was very dizzy and my stomach dropped. I felt the pressure of the warding increase around me – my intentions had become violent and the wards had responded. I squeezed my eyes shut tightly and leaned back in my chair, drawing in a ragged breath.

"Ria…" Kurama's voice was low with warning. He knew my response to the warding had come from my intentions. I gave a short nod in his direction and drew in another breath to calm myself. When I opened my eyes again, I found Clayton's eyes had shifted to Kurama and changed to the hazy white I'd seen only a few moments earlier. His teeth were bared and a quiet hiss was escaping his mouth.

"How do you know who they are?" My eyes narrowed as Clayton turned back to face me. "The two behind me and the other young guy who showed up in time to save me from your psychopathic tendencies?"

He growled and a look of disgust spread across his features. "I only know _of_ them – never really wanted to meet them." Narrowed brown eyes glanced over at Hiei. "They ruined everything."

I leaned forward. "They _saved_ me – from you."

Clayton was far too relaxed. He acted as if this was truly a business meeting, something akin to an interview. His body wasn't tense and he lounged in his chair as much as he could with the chains attached to the floor. "I wasn't going to kill you, Ria. You're worth far too much. That's why I didn't fight you when you attacked me – which was rude by the way."

My nose scrunched in confusion. When I had attacked him? In the warehouse? Clayton saying he chose not to fight back made sense, but now I was the one insulted. So I really wasn't strong when the seals cracked? He'd just been holding back?

"It was also rude of these… brutes to interrupt our time together. You know you've surrounded yourself with demons so much more dangerous than me? Compared to them, I'm as harmless as a fly."

I willed my expression to smooth over. Although I was aware my new companions were powerful, I never thought of them as dangerous. Not like him. "They're my _friends_."

Clayton chuckled and looked at me with an expression akin to pity, his eyebrows raising as he shook his head. "Oh, Ria… sweet Ria. C'mon, _we_ were friends back in the States."

My face remained neutral and unmoving. "That was before you kidnapped and _tortured_ me."

"But look! You are even better than you were before! So much stronger!" Clayton leaned forward over the table to reach for me with his cuffed hands. "This is all from me – _I_ gave this to you."

Time felt as though it slowed down around me. I felt my body rise and reach forward to grab the chained wrists. The cuffs sizzled against my skin, but I ignored the jolt of pain that ran up my arms and slammed Clayton's wrists down into the table faster than I dreamed possible. The metal table curved under my pressure and the imprints of his hands and wrists were dented in the surface. I felt the delicate bones break under my palms and, as Clayton cried out from the pain, time righted itself once again.

The edge of my vision was tinged with a dark gold as I released Clayton's wrists and reached for his throat instead. I could hear shouts of indignation from behind, but I ignored them to focus squeezing the life out of the man in front of me. I could feel my teeth bared and saw my claws digging in to his skin.

A pair of arms wrapped themselves around my waist and yanked me off of my previous captor. I screamed my rage at being denied yet a second time to kill the bastard. I writhed in the arms, scratching and punching at the appendages. In a flash, though, I was pressed harshly against the wall, the air knocked from my lungs. The front of my body felt crushed as the hands around my waist moved to hold my arms against the wall. Whoever had grabbed me had their body pressed against mine, holding me down.

A feral snarl escaped my lips as I bared my new-found fangs. "Let me go!"

"Calm yourself!" The whispered command came with a scorching hot breath at my ear. The distinct change in temperature made me squirm, though it worked its purpose by quelling my anger. I stopped tensing my body and relaxed in the hold of the fire demon.

He released me a moment later, and I stumbled before steading myself against the wall. The sickening nausea of the wards crashed into my frayed nerves and I shuddered from the suppression of my energy – too much, too fast. One of my hands splayed against my stomach, willing the contents of it to remain as they were. When I turned around to glare at Hiei, I noticed the room was devoid of the mirror demon. My eyes narrowed as they found Kurama, who looked at me warily.

"I wasn't done." My voice had dropped in pitch and I could hear the anger seeping into every word. Although I felt like I was recovering from a stomach virus, I could still maintain my negativity towards the situation.

It was Kurama's eyes that narrowed, this time. He stood to his full height and crossed his arms loosely. The cold and calculating expression I had grown used to with Yoko was plastered on his face. "And I say you are."

I could feel my entire body shaking with adrenaline and rage. My chin was shaking from the effort it took not to lose myself in the emotion. I watched Kurama take in my reaction, his own relaxing in sympathy as a few tears escaped my eyes. "What do you hope to gain from his death, Ria?"

Meeting his eyes, I could feel my lip pull back as I bared my fangs again in a snarl. "His death is all I need to gain."

The door to the room, which had been thrown open in the removal of the Maneshi, was suddenly filled with the figure of Spirit World's young ruler, still in his teenager form. Koenma's eyes locked on to me, but there was no malice behind them. "I have to thank you, Ria. Clayton is now screaming at how his friends will come to his aid – we've been given vital information to his associates due to your attempt on his life." He shook his head quickly. "We had our suspicions the Maneshi demons had come to the Human World, but now we know they're hunting human psychics for their powers… thanks to you."

"You're so fucking welcome." The nausea was increasing. Was I actually going to be sick? I coughed as bile rose in my throat, the back of my hand rising to hover in front of my mouth.

"She needs to be removed from here – now." Hiei grabbed the back of my upper arm and pulled me stiffly out of the room and down the long hall we'd come in through. I heard Kurama and the Spirit Ruler keeping up with us as we exited the front doors.

Hiei shoved me forward and I stumbled, falling to my knees as I gave in and allowed the bile in my throat to escape to the ground. It burned as it passed over my tongue, and I felt a wave of shame creep over me at my inability to restrain myself.

"Fool. That's what you get for losing control." Hiei's voice was gruff as I finished emptying my stomach, coughing as I tried to catch my breath. Refusing to respond to him, I pushed myself back to my feet and spit as much of the bile taste from my mouth as I could.

Koenma had summoned something of a portal to transport us back to Genkai's and the swirling blue light calmed my panicked brain ever so slightly. "It would be best if you returned now. There's nothing more you can do."

Breathing heavily, my brow furrowed in confusion. "You just said Clayton was giving you vital information – let me talk to him again and I'll get more."

Kurama stepped up to me, a small cloth in his hand – of course he was prepared. I gingerly took it from him and wiped my forehead of sweat before folding it and wiping my mouth. I tucked it into my pocket as Kurama's hand rested on my shoulder.

Koenma clasped his hands behind his back. "The Maneshi demon has been sentenced to death. I doubt there is much more he could divulge – he was very thorough in his screaming. He will no longer be a problem to the living world."

My eyes widened as my heart dropped – Clayton was sentenced… he was going to be executed? He was going to die… and not by my hand. My rage and energy swelled correspondingly. Kurama sensed it as his hand clamped down painfully on my shoulder. He moved, grasping me with both hands, and spun me towards the portal while calling out a warning to Koenma and Hiei.

The moment we returned to the land surrounding Genkai's temple, I felt the rush of my energy flow from my very core into every square inch of my body. I jolted forward, the shock coursing through me as I turned to face Kurama and Hiei, who'd rushed through the portal behind us. The anger I'd felt at Clayton filled me – I wanted blood. My one-track mind latched onto Hiei as the last one who had prevented me from fulfilling my bloodlust.

I don't think Kurama expected it, and neither did the fire demon as I stepped forward quickly and grabbed him by the throat. My claws dipped into his skin and I felt the sharp points pierce through the first few layers. Fangs bared, my mouth opened just enough for an angry snarl to escape me as I pushed Hiei forcefully back against the nearest tree. The snarl turned into a rage-filled roar as I pressed against his throat.

One of his hands went for his sword, but I ripped it from his reach before he could get a grip on it. I vaguely realized I was moving far faster than normal, but I reasoned it was from the sudden rush of energy filling me. His hands instead latched on to my arm in attempts to wrest my clutch from his throat.

I snarled again and I watched his red eyes widen before narrowing in a glower. I saw the reflection of my own glowing a bright gold once again. I hesitated for an instant, which Hiei took advantage of by bringing his fist down on the inside of my elbow to break my grip. I stumbled forward and his knee came up to meet my stomach. I cried out and pushed myself away from him, my claws dragging against his skin. His foot came up and connected with my abdomen, sending me sliding back in the dirt.

I remained on my feet, but sent a dark glare at the fire demon. Kurama stepped up next to me, looking down at me with concern written all over his features. Hiei had reached a hand up to stop the light bleeding on his neck. With his other hand, he reached down to grab his sheathed sword from the ground. He maintained his own glare in my direction, but it didn't hold any malice.

"Ria." Kurama's voice was soft and my gaze drew up to meet his own. He shook his head gently. "Killing Clayton would not have brought you peace."

I let out a frustrated growl, but I soon realized my breath continued on and changed my growl into a heated roar. When I ran out of air, I let my shoulders fall. My hands fell limply at my sides and I glanced over at Hiei. His own facial expression had relaxed to regard me with caution. I still growled low, although now it was out of frustration than anger. The energy that had filled me was fading into a manageable tingle at the edge of my awareness.

"I just…" My voice threatened to break, so I swallowed thickly and raised the back of my hand to rub at my eyes. I hoped they weren't glowing so brightly. It was nearly embarrassing, to have my emotions control me to the point of affecting my physical appearance so severely. "He _tortured_ me– that was the end of my human life; torture at the hands of this… Maneshi demon. I just… I wanted it to be the end of his life, too." The words escaped me in a quiet mumble as I realized why I'd become so fixated on Clayton's death.

Tears stung at my eyes and my jaw trembled with the suppressed emotion. He had taken _everything_ I'd known and burned it in my own demonic energy – why shouldn't I be given a chance to take justice for his sins? But instead I was expected to sit back and allow Spirit World to take over. I was expected to move on and forget him and my human life.

Clenching my fists, I gathered the remainder of the energy surge I'd had and pushed my body to run. I knew I wasn't fast enough to get away from Hiei, or even Kurama, but I hoped they wouldn't pursue me immediately. I could hear Kurama's worried tone calling out to me as I ran deeper into the forest surrounding Genkai's temple.

"Leave me **alone**!" My shout was thick as I allowed the tears to stream down my face, streaking down my neck from the speed of my run. I needed time and space to think about process what had just happened and where I would go from here... If I would go on from here. " _Please_ …"

* * *

 **A/N:** …oh heyyy. Um, yeah, long time no update… my bad. So, basically life was life, work came crashing down on my head, my master's classes got a little hectic, I do a bit of photography on the side, Pokemon Go came out, my husband's car decided to give him fits (had to throw a couple grand at that…), and I just wasn't super focused on the story. Inspiration is coming back around though! I hope, anyway.

Please make sure to review or even send me a message to let me know what you think of the story. I know there are some filler chapters, mistakes here and there, but I'm hoping to get things underway again to really wrap things into a neat little ball of fanfiction. I've put this little tidbit up on my profile a while ago, but we're about halfway through the first Arc of this story. I have FOUR arcs mapped out… and an additional KuramaOC story floating around in my brain as a partner story to this one. I say floating around in my brain, but there's already like 20 pages of notes for that one, too. Sometimes I wish I didn't have to work so I could just write all the time – but I have to be an adult and I tend to have expensive hobbies. Meh.

Anywho, please don't hate me for the sporadic updating schedule. Let's go for a chapter every other month as an expectation. I don't know if I'll have too much time on my hands to really do much more. So look out for Chapter 13 before Halloween!


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